Google has announced a streamlining of its guidance on implementing infinite scroll for websites. The search giant has migrated its recommendations from a previous blog post into its official documentation, enhancing accessibility and ensuring up-to-date information for webmasters and developers.
Key Points of the Update:
Consolidation of Information: Guidance on infinite scroll implementation has been moved from a blog post to the official Google Search documentation.
No Change in Recommendations: The content of the guidance remains the same, focusing on best practices for implementing infinite scroll in an SEO-friendly manner.
Improved Accessibility: This move makes it easier for developers to find and reference Google's recommendations on infinite scroll.
Core Recommendations for Infinite Scroll:
Google's guidance emphasizes several key points for implementing infinite scroll:
Unique URLs: Each content chunk should have its own persistent and unique URL.
Content Consistency: Ensure that content shown under each URL remains the same upon every browser load.
Avoid Relative Elements: Use absolute page numbers (e.g., ?page=12) instead of relative elements (e.g., ?date=yesterday) in URLs.
Sequential Linking: Implement proper pagination by linking sequentially to individual URLs.
URL Updates: Use the History API to update the displayed URL when new content becomes the primary visible element during scrolling.
Impact on SEO and User Experience:
These recommendations aim to make infinite scroll implementations more search engine friendly while also improving user experience. By following these guidelines, webmasters can ensure that:
- Search engines can properly discover and index all content.
- Users can easily share and revisit specific sections of content.
- The website maintains consistency and predictability in its content presentation.
This update underscores Google's ongoing efforts to provide clear, accessible guidance to web developers and site owners. By consolidating this information in its official documentation, Google is helping to ensure that best practices for infinite scroll are widely adopted, potentially leading to improved search experiences for users and better indexing for websites.
