Removing a Page From Google index
-
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?
-
Thanks Ryan. I fully understand what you are saying and will be careful while making the change.
-
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
-
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
-
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!
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Title page google serp
Why does Google change the titles automatically? I have <title>Canyoning Açores - São Jorge | Discover Experience Açores</title> but google show Discover Experience Açores: Canyoning Açores - São Jorge
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | tiagoarruda0 -
Weird Indexing Issues with the Pages and Rankings
When I found the my page was non-existent on the search results page, I requested Google to index my page via the Search Console. And then just a few minutes after I did that, that page rose to top 3 ranking on the search page (with the same keyword and browser search). It happens to most of the pages on my website. Maybe a week later the rankings sank again, and I had to do the process again to make my pages to the top. Any reasons to explain this phenomenon, and how I can fix this issue? Thank you in advance.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | mrmrsteven0 -
Webmaster Tools Not Indexing New Pages
Hi there Mozzers, Running into a small issue. After a homepage redesign (from a list of blog posts to a product page), it seems that blog posts are buried on the http://OrangeOctop.us/ site. The latest write-up on "how to beat real madrid in FIFA 15", http://orangeoctop.us/against-real-madrid-fifa-15/ , has yet to be indexed. It would normally take about a day naturally for pages to be indexed or instantly with a manual submission. I have gone into webmaster tools and manually submitted the page for crawls multiple times on multiple devices. Still not showing up in the search results. Can anybody advise?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | orangeoctop.us0 -
Dev Subdomain Pages Indexed - How to Remove
I own a website (domain.com) and used the subdomain "dev.domain.com" while adding a new section to the site (as a development link). I forgot to block the dev.domain.com in my robots file, and google indexed all of the dev pages (around 100 of them). I blocked the site (dev.domain.com) in robots, and then proceeded to just delete the entire subdomain altogether. It's been about a week now and I still see the subdomain pages indexed on Google. How do I get these pages removed from Google? Are they causing duplicate content/title issues, or does Google know that it's a development subdomain and it's just taking time for them to recognize that I deleted it already?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | WebServiceConsulting.com0 -
Google Is Indexing The Wrong Page For My Keyword
For a long time (almost 3 mounth) google indexing the wrong page for my main keyword.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Tiedemann_Anselm
The problem is that each time google indexed another page each time for a period of 4-7 days, Sometimes i see the home page, sometimes a category page and sometimes a product page.
It seems though Google has not yet decided what his favorite / better page for this keyword. This is the pages google index: (In most cases you can find the site on the second or third page) Main Page: http://bit.ly/19fOqDh Category Page: http://bit.ly/1ebpiRn Another Category: http://bit.ly/K3MZl4 Product Page: http://bit.ly/1c73B1s All links I get to the website are natural links, therefore in most cases the anchor we got is the website name. In addition I have many links I get from bloggers that asked to do a review on one of my products, I'm very careful about that and so I'm always checking the blogger and their website only if it is something good, I allowed it. also i never ask for a link back (must of the time i receive without asking), and as I said, most of their links are anchor with my website name. Here some example of links that i received from bloggers: http://bit.ly/1hF0pQb http://bit.ly/1a8ogT1 http://bit.ly/1bqqRr8 http://bit.ly/1c5QeC7 http://bit.ly/1gXgzXJ Please Can I get a recommendation what should you do?
Should I try to change the anchor of the link?
Do I need to not allow bloggers to make a review on my products? I'd love to hear what you recommend,
Thanks for the help0 -
Why would one of our section pages NOT be indexed by Google?
One of our higher traffic section pages is not being indexed by Google. The products that reside on this section page ARE indexed by Google and are on page 1. So why wouldn't the section page be even listed and indexed? The meta title is accurate, meta description is good. I haven't received any notices in Webmaster Tools. Is there a way to check to see if OTHER pages might also not be indexed? What should a small ecom site do to see about getting it listed? SOS in Modesto. Ron
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | yatesandcojewelers0 -
De-indexed by Google! ?
So it looks as though the content from myprgenie.com is no longer being indexed. Anyone know what happened and what they can do to fix it fast?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | siteoptimized0 -
Should you stop indexing of short lived pages?
In my site there will be a lot of pages that have a short life span of about a week as they are items on sale, should I nofollow the links meaning the site has a fwe hundred pages or allow indexing and have thousands but then have lots of links to pages that do not exist. I would of course if allowing indexing make sure the page links does not error and sends them to a similarly relevant page but which is best for me with the SEarch Engines? I would like to have the option of loads of links with pages of loads of content but not if it is detrimental Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | barney30120