Let’s first define deindexing so that we can move on to the fastest approach to deindex sites on Google.
A page is deindexed when it is taken out of a search engine’s index. When a page is indexed, people can use search engine queries to find it. The need to remove a page from search results can arise, however, in some circumstances, such as when it includes obsolete or inaccurate material or when it disobeys Google’s webmaster standards.
The “Remove URL” option in Google Search Console is the quickest way to deindex a page from Google, while there are other methods as well. This is how you do it:
Step 1: access Google Search Console. A free tool offered by Google to assist webmasters in tracking the effectiveness of their website in search results is called Google Search Console. You must first sign in to Google Search Console with your Google account before using the “Remove URL” option.
Step 2: Choose the website’s property and version. After signing in to Google Search Console, choose the website’s property and version from the dashboard. Make sure to choose the correct version of your website if you have different ones (such as www and non-www).
Step 3: Select “Remove URLs” Click “Removals” on the left-hand menu, followed by “Remove URLs.”
Step 4: Type the URL you want to delete. Input the URL of the page you wish Google to stop indexing. Ensure that the entire URL is included, including the “http://” or “https://” protocol.
Step 5: Choose the removal method. There are two different removal services you can select from:
- Temporarily remove the page from cache and hide it from search results: With this choice, the page will be removed from Google’s index and cache for approximately 90 days. Unless you ask for the removal to be prolonged, Google will then come back to the page and reindex it.
- Temporarily hide page from search results and remove from cache: This option will remove the page from Google’s index and cache for about 90 days. After that, Google will revisit the page and reindex it unless you request for the removal to be extended.
- Clearing the cache and permanently removing the item from search results will permanently delete the page from Google’s index and cache. Google may take some time to change its search results, though.
Step 6: Send the takedown request Click “Submit Request” to send Google the removal request after choosing the removal type. Within a few hours, Google will examine the request and delist the page from both its index and cache.
It’s crucial to understand that deindexing a page does not necessarily mean that it will disappear entirely from the internet. The page will still be accessible via direct links or by entering the URL on your website. But it won’t show up in search results anymore.
There are a few additional methods to deindex a page on Google besides using the “Remove URL” feature in Google Search Console:
- Add a “noindex” tag to the HTML code of the page. When a page’s HTML code has a “noindex” tag, it instructs search engines not to index the page. As it stops search engines from indexing the page in the first place, this is a more long-lasting fix than utilising the “Remove URL” feature in Google Search Console.
Add the following code to the “meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”> section of the page’s HTML code to add a “noindex” tag.
- Add a robots.txt block to the page When a page is blocked in robots.txt, search engines are informed not to crawl it. This approach is less trustworthy than including a “noindex” element in the HTML code of the website because some search engines might still index the page even if they are unable to crawl it.
Add the following code to robots.txt to ban a page:
Disallow: /example-page.html User-agent
The “example-page.html” page is not to be crawled or indexed according to this code. It should be noted that this technique only functions if the search engine crawler abides by robots.txt instructions; some may still crawl and index the page even though it is forbidden by robots.txt.
It’s crucial to remember that deindexing a page shouldn’t be done carelessly because it could harm your website’s SEO. Pages should only be removed from Google’s index if absolutely necessary because doing so can lower organic traffic and search engine rankings.
Additionally, it’s critical to confirm that the page you want to have Google remove from its index is genuinely hurting your website. Update the content rather than remove it entirely if the page generates traffic or includes valuable information.
In conclusion, using the “Remove URL” option in Google Search Console is the quickest approach to deindex a page on Google. Before taking any action, it’s crucial to weigh the possible repercussions of deindexing a website and to look into other solutions, such as adding a “noindex” tag or blocking the page in robots.txt.
