Site (Subdomain) Removal from Webmaster Tools
-
We have two subdomains that have been verified in Google Webmaster Tools. These subdomains were used by 3rd parties which we no longer have an affiliation with (the subdomains no longer serve a purpose).
We have been receiving an error message from Google: "Googlebot can't access your site. Over the last 24 hours, Googlebot encountered 1 errors while attempting to retrieve DNS information for your site. The overall error rate for DNS queries for your site is 100.00%". I originally investigated using Webmaster Tools' URL Removal Tool to remove the subdomain, but there are no indexed pages. Is this a case of simply 'deleting' the site from the Manage Site tab in the Webmaster Tools interface?
-
If the site has been already removed by Google then you're fine but i would still put a robots.txt block on it, since you don't know who turned it off. They probably pointed it away from your subdomain in their domain registrar account, which means they could repoint it again anytime if they wanted and the site would resolve again and get indexed again.
-
Hi Cary
From what you say it suggests to me the subdomains have gone / dead / been removed.
Therefore you only need to remove it from WMT and ensure only the correct people have access to your WMT / GA etc as I outlined above.
All the best
Nigel
-
Hi nigel555,
I was thinking along these lines, but I was concerned it was too simplistic of an approach. I was sure I was missing something.
How do you feel about the approach outlined above by Irving?
-
Thanks for the help Irving.
So you think we should block the subdomains with robots.txt files and then use the URL removal tool to remove the "sites" from Google's index.
I have done a site: search looking for indexed URLs from the subdomains, but the searches were empty. Do you think I should still use the URL removal tool?
-
Hi Cary, you are getting that message as the subdomain cannot be reached by Google.
On the Google Webmaster 'Home page' click the dropdown on the right - there should be 3 options.
First click 'Add or remove users' to ensure and deal with users you no longer want.
Then click 'Delete site' to remove the subdomain (make sure you delete the right one!)
Other things you may want to consider:
Check your main site has the right users accessing it.
Did you have Google Analytics on the subdomians - that data will still be there. You may want to consider who has access to that in future.
Check if the affiliates had any access to email, documents, regular reports or other tool you may want to lock down on.
All the best
Nigel
-
it sounds like they are no longer resolving? since they are subdomains to your site i would block them with robots.txt (making sure you don't accidentally block your main site) and request removal in WMT and get them both completely deindexed.
I would keep them verified in WMT so that you can see there is nothing being done with them by a third party, because you are responsible for your subdomain content since it's technically under your control.
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
-
Webmaster tools showing 200 page load ok - all other testing tools show a 301
hey, on https://www.xxx.co we've setup a 301 redirect to xxx.us - > BUT in webmaster tools its still showing a 200 load ok, whereas on all other testing tools its showing a 301 redirect (screamingfrog etc) even https://dns.google.com/query?name=www.xxx.co is showing that its 301 redirected. Any ideas? as we want to trigger the change of address tool in WMT and its saying it cant as it loads the homepage still....
Technical SEO | | RobertN-London0 -
Site dropped from SERP
Hello, I've been ranking a site for the last 5 months with good success, ranking on the first page for a high traffic keyword. In the beginning of September however, my site completely dropped out of the SERPs for several of those keywords yet my site was still indexed and there was no penalty applied to my site via search console. I would assume this maybe because of the update during the time.My site came back again a week later and it was ranking much higher on the first page (#2). Today, I just checked the SERPs and my site is now gone again. It was there this morning but now as of two hours ago it is gone, as well as one of my main competitors. My site is still indexed and no penalties via search console. Does anyone know what causes these types of issues? Im assuming my site will come back in a week or so with hopefully the same or better ranking, but when I have disruptions like this it really hurts my organic traffic. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!
Technical SEO | | KathleenDC0 -
Webmaster tools Hentry showing pages that don't exist
In Webmaster Tools I have a ton of pages listed under Structured Data >> Hentry. These pages are not on my website and I don't know where they are coming from. I redid the site for someone and perhaps they are from the old site. How do I find and delete these? Thank you Rena
Technical SEO | | renalynd270 -
Getting a ton of "not found" errors in Webmaster tools stemming from /plugins/feedback.php
So recently Webmaster tools showed a million "not found" errors with the url "plugins/feedback.php/blah blah blah." A little googling helped me find that this comes from the Facebook comment box plugin. Apparently some changes recently have made this start happening. The question is, what's the right fix? The thread I was reading suggested adding "Disallow: /plugins/feedback.php" to the robots.txt file and marking them all fixed. Any ideas?
Technical SEO | | cbrant7770 -
What do I need to do for HTTPS switch in Webmaster Tools?
My site is currently verified using a meta tag for both Google and Bing. Will I need to recreate the meta tag or will I be able to use the same one?
Technical SEO | | EcommerceSite1 -
How many pages should my site have?
Right now I think I only have 36. What is a good amount of pages to have? Any ideas on ways to add relevant pages to my site? I was thinking about starting a message board. Also, I have a free tech support chat room, and was thinking about posting the logs somewhere on the site. Does that sound like a good idea? Thanks.
Technical SEO | | eugenecomputergeeks0 -
My site has vanished from google
Hi my site has vanished from google. We have been for a very long time. for example if you put in gastric band hypnotherapy then we would be first page number two and also lots of other keywords but now we have vanished from google and i do not know why or how to solve this. can anyone please help me and help me understand what i need to do to solve this please My site is http://www.clairehegarty.co.uk I am not sure if i have been banned or why i have dropped out of google
Technical SEO | | ClaireH-1848860 -
Site revision
our site has complete redesign including site architecture, page url and page content (except domain). It looks like a new site. The old site has been indexed about thirty thousand results by google. now what should i do first?
Technical SEO | | jallenyang0