Removing a Page From Google index

[dbuckles]

We accidentally generated some pages on our site that ended up getting indexed by google. We have corrected the issue on the site and we 404 all of those pages. Should we manually delete the extra pages from Google's index or should we just let Google figure out that they are 404'd? What the best practice here?

[seoug_2005]

Thanks Ryan. I fully understand what you are saying and will be careful while making the change.

[RyanKent]

Hi Atul,

Generally speaking I am uncomfortable advising others on specific changes to the .htaccess file. If you make even a slight error while working with the file, your site security can be compromised, not to mention your SEO. There are also many factors to consider such as which mods are enabled on your particular server along with other configuration issues. Lastly, the order in which your code is placed in the file can effect it's operation so it's not like adding a meta tag to the section of an html document.

If you are on managed hosting, my recommendation is to ask your web host to make the change. If you are not on managed hosting, I recommend asking the developer who manages the site to make the change.

If you still insist on making the change yourself, try

Redirect gone /ABC/xyz.html

[seoug_2005]

After reading your answer, i searched for methods on how to generate 410 error.

Lets say i want to remove a page named xyz.html.

Which of the following entry in .htaccess is correct

Redirect gone xyz.html

or

Redirect gone /xyz/

If xyz were in a folder named ABC,

would it be correct

Redirect gone /ABC/xyz.html

Thaks

[dbuckles]

Thanks everyone! We are just going to leave it as is. Google will eventually flush it out. Ryan - because of the 90 days we can't remove the URL's. I will need them back sooner than that when we actually put products in those states. Thanks again! helpful....as usual!

[RyanKent]

Remove URL tool will just expedite the inevitable. There is no downside in doing so.

I agree with everything you shared Esko up to this point. Aside from the time spent to remove the page, there is another downside. The URL you remove will not appear in SERPs again for 90 days after being manually removed.

If your URL was mysite.com/blue-widgets then your site will not have another /blue-widgets page listed again for 90 days. I can share it is a headache as an SEO trying to figure out why a page is not being indexed, and later learning I did not ask all the right questions i.e. "Prior to hiring my services, have you or anyone with access to your WMT account used the URL Removal tool within the past 90 days?". That otherwise obscure question now is asked regularly of my clients. Painful lesson.

Also, I wanted to share another helpful link I located from Google: When NOT to use the URL Removal tool.

[MitchellIntl]

Google will completely drop the page from the index after the next time they crawl it. Using the Remove URLs tool in Google Webmaster Tools will only expedite removal.

Best practice is to 404 (Not Found) or 410 (Gone) the page first of all.

Remove URL tool will just expedite the inevitable. There is no downside in doing so.

[RyanKent]

Should we manually delete the extra pages from Google's index or should we just let Google figure out that they are 404'd? What the best practice here?

The best practice would be to generate a 410 error (GONE) for the pages and Google will remove them from their index fairly quickly.

The next best practice would be to leave the pages as 404s and Google will still remove them from their index but it will take a bit longer.

A 410 is used to inform Google and others the page is definitely gone. A 404 merely states the page is unavailable now. It could be available later.

The removal tool should only be used if it is a major concern for the search result to appear in SERPs. An example would be if confidential information was leaked.

[EricaMcGillivray]

I think it's always good to let Google know as they might remove it sooner. But there's no guarantee either way. Though if you can, you should 301 your content to a new/similar page rather than just let it 404.

[dbuckles]

I understand HOW to remove a page. I want to know whether it's better for me to manually remove it or let Google remove it on its own.

[MitchellIntl]

Remove a page from Google's Index

Use Google Webmaster Tools www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=1663419