The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. SEO and Digital Marketing Forum
    2. Categories
    3. SEO Tactics
    4. Technical SEO
    5. Best Way To Clean Up Unruly SubDomain?
    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Best Way To Clean Up Unruly SubDomain?

    Technical SEO
    3 2 859
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • RocketZando
      RocketZando last edited by

      Hi,

      I have several subdomains that present no real SEO value, but are being indexed. They don't earn any backlinks either. What's the best way of cleaning them up?

      I was thinking the following:

      1. Verify them all in Webmaster Tools.

      2. Remove all URLs from the index via the Removal Tool in WMT

      3. Add site-wide no-index, follow directive.

      Also, to remove the URLs in WMT, you usually have to block the URLs via /robots.txt.

      If I'd like to keep Google crawling through the subdomains and remove their URLs, is there a way to do so?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • BlueprintMarketing
        BlueprintMarketing last edited by

        PS

        DO NOT "

        2. Remove all URLs from the index via the Removal Tool in WMT"

        This is my opinion and I believe it is shared with many other people as well and search engine optimization community by using the Google disavow link tool or revoke links tool you are essentially consenting to doing something wrong do not do it

        do not unblock 100% of your robot text only allow the links that you wish to have seen by Google. Just think of them as a parameter on the end of the link but a subdomain. It will be indexed and site map accordingly.

        Sincerely,

        Thomas

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • BlueprintMarketing
          BlueprintMarketing last edited by

          You may now continue to use subdomains. And they will be ranked just as high as non-subdomains.

          You have to do exactly what you stated but the opposite you have to remove the robot text that is blocking subdomain from being indexed by search engines

          Once there is a site map and the robot text is fixed to allow search engine's to crawl the subdomain it will be ranked appropriately and should not have to take any more action.

          I hope I've been help.

          Sincerely,

          Thomas

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • 1 / 1
          • First post
            Last post

          Got a burning SEO question?

          Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


          Start my free trial


          Explore more categories

          • Moz Tools

            Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

            Getting Started
            Moz Pro
            Moz Local
            Moz Bar
            API
            What's New

          • SEO Tactics

            Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

            Content Development
            Competitive Research
            Keyword Research
            Link Building
            On-Page Optimization
            Technical SEO
            Reporting & Analytics
            Intermediate & Advanced SEO
            Image & Video Optimization
            International SEO
            Local SEO

          • Community

            Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

            Moz Blog
            Moz News
            Industry News
            Jobs and Opportunities
            SEO Learn Center
            Whiteboard Friday

          • Digital Marketing

            Chat about tactics outside of SEO

            Affiliate Marketing
            Branding
            Conversion Rate Optimization
            Web Design
            Paid Search Marketing
            Social Media

          • Research & Trends

            Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

            SERP Trends
            Search Behavior
            Algorithm Updates
            White Hat / Black Hat SEO
            Other SEO Tools

          • Support

            Connect on product support and feature requests.

            Product Support
            Feature Requests
            Participate in User Research

          • See all categories

          Get started with Moz Pro!

          Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

          Start my free trial
          Products
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Local
          • Moz API
          • Moz Data
          • STAT
          • Product Updates
          Moz Solutions
          • SMB Solutions
          • Agency Solutions
          • Enterprise Solutions
          • Digital Marketers
          Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Authority Checker
          • Link Explorer
          • Keyword Explorer
          • Competitive Research
          • Brand Authority Checker
          • Local Citation Checker
          • MozBar Extension
          • MozCast
          Resources
          • Blog
          • SEO Learning Center
          • Help Hub
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO
          • How-to Guides
          • Moz Academy
          • API Docs
          About Moz
          • About
          • Team
          • Careers
          • Contact
          Why Moz
          • Case Studies
          • Testimonials
          Get Involved
          • Become an Affiliate
          • MozCon
          • Webinars
          • Practical Marketer Series
          • MozPod
          Connect with us

          Contact the Help team

          Join our newsletter
          Moz logo
          © 2021 - 2026 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
          • Accessibility
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy

          Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.