We have a large database of items which are viewable as individual items (they are plants) (url example http://www.plantify.co.uk/Abelia-chinensis/plant-5087) or in a list view (url example http://www.plantify.co.uk/page-1/plant). There is a link on the individual page to the list view. We want to index in google for the term Abelia chinensis.My question revolves around the list view and its impact on SEO. Should we prevent google from indexing the list view? Should we put a no follow on the link to the list view to prevent us from losing link 'juice' to a page that is really on for navigation/
List view pages in google index
seo
There is almost never a reason to prevent Google's indexing of a page. In this kind of situation if the list view is appearing above the individual page in search results (for a direct query like Abelia chinensis) then there is something else wrong.Here are some things I think you should fix/improve:Your navigation looks confusing to me. Your plant finder link in the main menu links to the first plant in the list, instead of the list itself.On the list view, the Browse link always goes to Heucherella. (Not really sure where it should go, maybe the last plant you visited?)The pagination on the list view implies there are only 5 pages. When you get to page 5, there is no 6, just a Next link.Whichever plant you are on, the list tab always goes to the first page, not the page the current plant is on.In the list, each plant name is in a H1 tag inside a link. Not only does this break several validation rules (multiple H1s, block tag in inline tag), it will not aid SEO. You should have one H1 tag as the page heading (e.g. List of plants) then just list the links. You could use a H2 for them if you like.The title on the individual plant page would be better with your site name at the end, i.e. <title>Abelia chinensis (Chinese abelia) | Plantify</title>If you want a page to rank, that page needs links to it (not just the home page plus internal linking). Try getting a few deep links to your Abelia chinensis or other plant pages.