Can Google crawl infinite scroll pages?

Only partly. Google does not scroll or click, so it sees what loads without user action. Units that load only on scroll or a button tap are usually missed unless each batch also has its own URL and a plain link to it.

Is a "Load more" button bad for SEO?

Not if it sits on top of crawlable pagination. Google says its crawlers don’t click buttons, so the button must be backed by real <a href> links to paginated URLs such as ?page=2 .

Does Google still use rel="next" and rel="prev"?

No. Google’s pagination guide says Google no longer uses these tags, although other search engines may. Link pages to each other with normal <a href> links instead.

Should all inventory pages point their canonical to page 1?

No. Google says not to use the first page of a paginated sequence as the canonical page, and to give each page its own canonical URL.

How do I check whether Google sees all my inventory?

Use Search Console’s URL Inspection live test on the inventory page and look for stock numbers from later batches in the rendered HTML. Then inspect a few deep VDPs. A site: search is a rough check only, because Google says it doesn’t necessarily show every indexed URL.

Is an XML sitemap enough on its own?

No. A sitemap helps Google discover your VDPs, but Google says it doesn’t guarantee they will be crawled and indexed. Use it alongside crawlable pagination and links from each unit card.

ResourcesSEO & digital marketing

SEO & digital marketing

How Google Crawls Pages With Infinite Scrolling, and Why Your Inventory May Be Invisible

Why Google can miss units on infinite-scroll and Load more inventory pages, how to test it with URL Inspection, and the paginated-URL fix Google documents.

By PSX Ascend Editorial TeamPublished February 21, 2022Updated October 15, 20269 minute read

Technical SEO
Infinite scroll
Inventory pages
Search Console

Quick answer

Google does not scroll or click, so units that appear only after scrolling or pressing Load more on a dealer inventory page may never be crawled. Google's documented fix is to give each chunk of results its own URL, link those pages with plain HTML links, link every vehicle detail page and list them in a sitemap.

This post first ran in February 2022 as a short note on a Google Search Central office-hours session about paginated content. It has been rewritten from Google's current documentation, for dealer principals, marketing managers and whoever manages the website relationship with your provider.

The problem it solves is common on dealer sites. Your new and pre-owned inventory page shows 12 or 24 units, and the rest appear as the shopper scrolls or taps "Load more". It feels smooth on a phone. But if Google cannot reach those extra units, their vehicle detail pages may never be indexed, and shoppers searching for that exact model never see your listing.

Why inventory pages are where this goes wrong

A blog has a handful of pages. An inventory page is a list that changes every day: units arrive, prices change and sold units disappear. Google finds most of those units by following links from the list to each vehicle detail page (VDP).

If the list only shows the first 24 units until someone scrolls, and the next batch is loaded by JavaScript with no link Google can follow, then unit 25 onward may have no crawlable path at all. The page looks complete to a shopper and incomplete to Google.

What Google's documentation says

Google's guidance on this is short and specific. These are direct quotes from Google Search Central.

Google does not interact with the page. The lazy-loading guide says to load content when it is visible in the viewport, because "Google Search does not interact with your page."
Buttons are not links. The pagination guide says: "Google's crawlers don't 'click' buttons and generally don't trigger JavaScript functions that require user actions."
Links must be real links. The JavaScript SEO basics page says: "Google can only discover your links if they are <a> HTML elements with an href attribute."
Each page needs its own URL. The pagination guide says "Give each page a unique URL", for example with a ?page=n parameter, "as URLs in a paginated sequence are treated as separate pages by Google."
Link the pages in order. It also says to "include links from each page to the following page using <a href> tags."
For infinite scroll specifically, the lazy-loading guide says to "Give each chunk its own persistent, unique URL", to "Link sequentially to the individual URLs", and to update the displayed URL using the History API when a new chunk becomes the main content.
Fragments do not count. "Google ignores fragment identifiers", so #page=2 is not a separate page.
rel="next" and rel="prev" are not used. Google's pagination guide says: "Google no longer uses these tags, although these links may still be used by other search engines."

Google also notes that "Load more" and infinite scroll "are generally implemented using JavaScript". That is not a problem in itself. The problem is JavaScript that only runs when a person scrolls or clicks.

Common inventory patterns: can Google see them?

Pattern on your inventory page	Can Google see units beyond the first batch?	Fix
Classic numbered pages with `<a href="?page=2">` links	Yes, if each page has a unique URL and links to the next	Keep it; give each page its own canonical
"Load more" button that fetches units with JavaScript, no URL change	Usually no: Google does not click buttons	Add paginated URLs and real links behind the button
Infinite scroll that loads on scroll events, no URL change	Usually no: Google does not scroll	Give each chunk a unique URL and link them in sequence
Infinite scroll that updates the URL with the History API and has paginated links in the page	Yes, this is the pattern Google documents	Test it with URL Inspection
Page numbers in a fragment such as `#page=3`	No: Google ignores fragments	Use a query parameter such as `?page=3`
Filter or sort links that create many versions of the same list	Yes, but Google may index duplicates	Use `noindex` on unwanted filter and sort versions, as Google suggests
Unit cards that open a VDP with a JavaScript click handler, no `href`	No link for Google to follow	Make every unit card an `<a href>` to its VDP

How to test your inventory pages

You do not need to read code to find out. Allow 20 minutes.

Count your live units. Note how many new and pre-owned units your inventory system says are online today.
Run a site: search. Search Google for site:yourdealership.com plus a model name you stock in quantity. Google says the site: operator "doesn't necessarily return all the URLs that are indexed", so treat this as a rough check, not a count.
Inspect the inventory page in Search Console. Open URL Inspection, enter the inventory page URL and choose Test live URL. Google's lazy-loading guide says you can use it "to see if all content was loaded."
Look at the rendered HTML. Choose View tested page and search the HTML for a stock number from your second or third batch of units. If only the first batch appears, Google is not seeing the rest from this page.
Look for page links. In the same HTML, search for ?page=2 or whatever your site uses. No page links means no crawlable path to later units.
Inspect a few VDPs. Pick units you know are deep in the list and run URL Inspection on each. Google says the results show "the most recently indexed version of a page, not the live version", so use the live test to see what Google would get today.
Request indexing sparingly. There is "a daily limit" on index requests, and "Submitting a request does not guarantee that the page will appear in the Google Index." Fix the structure first, then request indexing for a few key pages.

Our technical SEO audit for dealership websites covers the wider checks, such as HTTPS, speed and canonical tags.

The fix: paginated URLs behind the scroll

You can keep infinite scroll or "Load more" for shoppers. The fix is to give Google a plain path to the same units. Ask your website provider for this, in writing:

Every batch has its own URL, such as /inventory/?page=2, that loads that batch directly when opened in a new browser tab.
Each page links to the next with a normal <a href> link. A visible "Next" link or page numbers at the bottom of the list work well for shoppers who reach the end.
The scroll script updates the address bar with the History API as each new batch becomes the main content, so a shared or bookmarked link returns the shopper to the same place.
Each paginated page has its own canonical URL. Google's guide says: "Don't use the first page of a paginated sequence as the canonical page."
Every unit card links to its VDP with an <a href>, not only a click handler.
Unwanted filter and sort combinations are kept out of the index with the noindex robots meta tag, so Google spends its time on real pages.
Every VDP is listed in the XML sitemap, and sold units are removed promptly. Google's sitemap guide says a sitemap "helps search engines discover URLs on your site" but "doesn't guarantee that all the items in your sitemap will be crawled and indexed." Our guide to building an XML sitemap Google can trust has the detail.

What most guides miss: the list page is not the goal

Most advice on infinite scroll is written for online stores and treats the category page as the thing to rank. For a dealership, the inventory list is mainly a route. The pages that need to be found are the VDPs, because that is what a shopper searching for "2024 model name near me" lands on and acts on.

That changes three things:

Units move between pages every day. A pre-owned unit on page 2 today may be on page 4 next week. That is fine, as long as every unit is always linked from some page in the sequence and listed in the sitemap. Do not rely on Google remembering where a unit used to be.
Two paths are better than one. Pagination links give Google a path through the list. The sitemap gives it a second, direct list of every VDP. Together they cover the days when inventory changes faster than Google recrawls.
The VDP itself must stand alone. Once Google reaches it, the page needs a unique title, real photos, price and details in the HTML. Our article on SEO for vehicle detail pages covers what to put on each one, and online inventory listing standards covers the data behind it.

Test the mobile layout too, not just desktop. If your site uses a different scroll or button pattern on phones, that is the version to check, because Google indexes sites mobile-first. Our guide to mobile-first indexing for powersports websites explains what that means for your site.

Checklist for your website provider

Each inventory batch opens at its own URL with a query parameter, not a # fragment.
Page-to-page links are <a href> elements visible in the rendered HTML.
Each paginated page has its own canonical, not page 1.
Every unit card is an <a href> to its VDP.
Filter and sort variations you do not want indexed use noindex.
Every live VDP is in the XML sitemap; sold units leave the sitemap promptly.
URL Inspection's live test shows units from beyond the first batch in the rendered HTML.
Someone re-runs these checks after every site update or theme change.

Where PSX Ascend fits

PSX Ascend's powersports dealer websites connect with inventory tools so current vehicle details, pricing, photos and merchandising support the digital showroom, and the website offering includes local SEO, keyword targeting and manufacturer-specific landing pages. As our own product page says, technical structure and useful content still need ongoing quality checks and measurement, so run the tests above on any dealer site, ours included. AI inventory management helps your team publish stronger photos, descriptions and vehicle details, which is what each VDP needs once Google finds it.

You can also see the same certified dealership websites on our sister site, PSXDigital's certified dealership websites page.

Sources

Google Search Central, Pagination best practices for Google (last updated December 10, 2025)
Google Search Central, Fix lazy-loaded website content (last updated December 10, 2025)
Google Search Central, Understand JavaScript SEO basics (last updated March 4, 2026)
Google Search Central, How to use the site: search operator (last updated December 10, 2025)
Google Search Console Help, URL Inspection tool
Google Search Central, What is a sitemap? (last updated December 10, 2025)