: Any good reason to noindex /page/2/ in archives? In the WordPress SEO plugin by Yoast, there is an option that could noindex the subpages of archives. From example, it would noindex the following:

@Harper822

Instead of noindex, define canonical tags.

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@Lee4591628

I am skeptical about using this feature on my site. However, I think Google bot should not be prevented in anyway from indexing pages on a website or blog

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@Karen161

I us it on my webpage and since I have my portofolio there it indexes subpages regardless on my SEO Yoast settings of non indexing on subpages.

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@Gretchen104

Yoast discusses why this setting exists on his site. If your archive pages have any kind of static content or introduction, you run the risk of that content getting indexed on the second and subsequent pages of your archive and a dupe penalty applied. If you don't have that intro text, users get dumped into your older posts and may not have any real idea where they are or why Google sent them there and have a higher chance at bouncing away. So the setting allows you to set an intro to your archives whilst preventing duplicate content and also ensuring that Google (and inbound users) see the "freshest" content on the site.

Is the setting wholly necessary for life as we know it? Probably not. It mostly depends on how your site is structured.

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