layout - Which direction indicates newer/older?

So I'm reading some blogs and I get to the bottom of the page when I see a graphic similar to this:

<< Newer Posts          Older Posts >>

This makes sense to me. But then, quite often, I'll see it reversed!

<< Older Posts          Newer Posts>>    

This issue is compounded even further when the labels are changed:

<< Next                 Previous >>

It really, really makes me want to rip my hair out. What is the correct logic when specifying this type of information?

Answer

The text should largely depend on the actual content itself. Is it time sensitive, like news, or is it content that will be relevant no matter when it is viewed? If it's time sensitive, it makes sense to use older/newer. If it's not time sensitive, previous/next seems like a better fit.

However, I would argue that adding page numbers would increase the understandability of your pagination because they would give you a starting index that's readily apparent and they would also provide more context for your pagination. Much of the confusion in the above methods results from either not knowing where you are, not knowing where you've been, or both. Page numbers help mitigate that problem, especially if you make it clear which page number the user is currently viewing.

As far as which should come first, older/newer, it depends entirely on your sort order. Again, however, adding page numbers here greatly minimizes the confusion.

What's more, for both usability and SEO purposes, you should provide more than just older/newer or next/previous.

Consider:

Suppose your blog is about business news. Which is most usable?

1. Newer Business News 1 2 [3] 4 5 Older Business News


2. Newer Business News | Older Business News


3. Newer 1 2 [3] 4 5 Older


4. Newer | Older

Or let's say your blog isn't time sensitive. You instead publish business articles like best practices about marketing, hiring, strategy, etc. Which is most usable?

1. Previous Business Resources 1 2 [3] 4 5 More Business Resources



2. Previous Business Resources | More Business Resources


3. Previous 1 2 [3] 4 5 Next


4. Previous | Next