Why You Shouldn't Panic if Your Website is Excluded by a 'noindex' Tag (Google Search Console)
(cover image: laptop showing Google Search Console pages)
Hi Everyone!
If you see' Excluded, noindex tag' under Pages in your Google Search Console and start to panic, you think you need to fix it. I am here to tell you not to hit the panic button yet! While seeing this message may cause some concern, it's essential to understand what it means and why you shouldn't immediately jump to conclusions.
Why You Shouldn't Panic if Your Website is Excluded by a 'noindex' Tag (Google Search Console)
Discovering that your website has been excluded by a 'noindex' tag in Google Search Console can be alarming when you first see it. However, with proper education and knowledge, you will understand the reasons behind this exclusion before entering panic mode. Websites are often intentionally set to 'noindex' certain pages or sections for strategic SEO.
Instead of panicking, consider this an opportunity to review and optimize your site's indexing directives. By excluding specific pages from indexation, you can prioritize the visibility of critical content that matters most to your audience. This deliberate approach can enhance your website's overall search engine results performance.
When you see those URLs with an "excluded 'noindex' tag, it is not necessarily a negative indicator of your site's health or that you must fix it. It's all about looking at the tags and seeing these exclusions as a means to ignore them because they are just part of your website. Those URLs do not need to be in the search engine results. In the next section, you will see what I mean by this.
What is an Excluded 'noindex' tag -What Does it Mean? Why Some Pages Have It
An excluded 'noindex' tag in Google Search Console is a directive that tells search engines not to index specific pages on a website. This means that even if these pages are crawled, they will not appear in search engine results.
If a website is excluded by a 'no index' tag, it doesn't necessarily mean there's a major issue with its SEO performance. It simply indicates that the website owner has chosen not to have it show up in search engine results. It is important to identify which URLs are affected and ensure that important content is still being accurately indexed. Managing excluded 'noindex' tags in the Search Console helps prevent unintentional exclusions from negatively impacting website traffic.
Those reasons are:
Author/Admin Tag: Author or admin pages with a no-index tag are not meant for public viewing. They usually contain information about the website's authors or administrators and do not provide valuable content for search engine users.
URL looks like this: mydomainnamedotcom/author/admin
IGNORE: Leave it there! DO NOT FIX
Category Tags: They are put there because they don't get indexed. They're supposed to be for internal organization, not for search engines.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/category/affiliate-marketing,
mydomainnamedotcom/category/product-reviews,
mydomainnamedotcom/category/cat-products-reviews, and
mydomainnamedotcom/category/cat-products-reviews
IGNORE: Leave it there! DO NOT FIX
Canonical URLs: The 'noindex' tag can also be used with canonical URLs to indicate which page should be indexed if there are multiple versions of the same page on a website.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/canonical-best-affiliate-marketing-products
IGNORE: Leave it there! DO NOT FIX
Duplicate Content: Using a "no index" tag can prevent duplicate content from being indexed. Duplicate content refers to identical or very similar content found on multiple pages within the same website or across different websites. Search engines aim to avoid displaying various versions of the same content in their results, so using a "no index" tag can help prevent this issue.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/duplicate-page-1, mydomainnamedotcom/duplicate-page-2,
FIX: These pages should be fixed by consolidating them into one page or adding unique content to make each page distinct. Then, do a 301 redirect to a better one.
Privacy Concerns: Some sites may have sensitive information they do not want to make available publicly and choose to use a 'noindex' tag on these pages. This could include personal contact information, financial details, and login pages.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/login, mydomainnamedotcom/privacy-policy, mydomainnamedotcom/terms-of-use
IGNORE: Leave these pages with the 'noindex' tag to keep them from being indexed. DO NOT FIX
Under Construction Pages: Website owners may also use a 'no index' tag for pages still under construction or being worked on. This prevents unfinished or incomplete content from showing up in search results.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/coming-soon and mydomainnamedotcom/work-in-progress.
FIX: Once the page is complete and ready for indexing, the 'no index' tag can be removed so that it can appear in search results.
Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions Pages Tag: Some website owners may exclude their privacy policy and terms & conditions pages from search engine results by using a 'noindex' tag. This is typically done to prevent these legal documents from appearing in search results and potentially being indexed as duplicate content.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/privacy-policy, mydomainnamedotcom/terms-of-use
IGNORE: These pages should be left with the 'noindex' tag as they do not provide valuable content for search engine users. DO NOT FIX
Outdated or Unused Pages: Sometimes, site owners forget to remove the 'no index' tag from pages that are no longer relevant or in use. This can happen if a website undergoes major changes or revamps, leaving old pages with the 'noindex' directive.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/old-page, mydomainnamedotcom/discontinued-product
FIX: These pages should be reviewed and updated with relevant content or removed altogether. If they are no longer needed, the 'no index' tag should be removed to index these pages and potentially drive traffic to the site.
Temporary Pages: Temporary pages, such as landing pages for promotions or events, may have a 'noindex' tag applied so that they do not appear in search engine results after the promotion or event has ended.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/promotional-page, mydomainnamedotcom/event-page
FIX: Once the promotion or event has ended, the 'noindex' tag can be removed to index these pages and potentially drive traffic to the site.
Staging or Test Pages Tag: During website development, staging or test pages are often created for testing purposes. These pages may have a 'noindex' tag to prevent them from indexing in search engine results before the site is officially launched.
URLs look like this: mydomainnamedotcom/staging-page, mydomainnamedotcom/test-page.
FIX: Once the site is ready to go live, the 'noindex' tag should be removed to index these pages and potentially drive traffic.
If you noticed an excluded 'noindex' tag is there. That is a directive that prevents search engines from indexing specific pages. It can be used intentionally or unintentionally for various reasons, such as privacy concerns, duplicate content issues, or temporary measures during website development. Monitoring and managing these tags is crucial to ensure critical pages are not unintentionally excluded from search engine results.
How To Check in Google Search Console
The process is relatively straightforward when checking if your website has been excluded by a 'no index' tag in Google Search Console. First, log into your Google Search Console account and select the property you want to check. Next, navigate to the Coverage report under the Index section.
In the report, look for any pages listed as "Excluded" due to a 'noindex' tag. These are URLs that Google has discovered but decided not to show in search results because of the directive on those specific pages.
Click on the specific page for more detailed information about why a 'noindex' tag has excluded a particular URL. This will provide insights into why Google has chosen not to index that page.
Refer to the above Tags and find the URLs to determine if they can be IGNORED-DO NOT FIX or FIX:
Regularly monitoring this data in Google Search Console lets you stay informed about any issues related to 'noindex' tags affecting your website's visibility in search results.
Final Thoughts
I want to mention that "knowledge is power" when navigating the complexities of SEO. By staying informed and taking the necessary actions outlined in this list guide, you can work towards resolving any issues related to being excluded by a 'no index' tag. Stay calm, stay focused, and use these insights as a roadmap to optimize your website's visibility and performance in organic search results.
I gave you a list above- please save it because it will help you know what to do when you see those URLs. I hope this helps you. If you have questions about this or something you saw in Google Search Console, let me know in the comments below.
-BrendaMZ
Recent Comments
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I've been a couple of these messages so thank you for your detailed explanation on what and what not to fix and how to do it!
Thanks again Brenda. This is a great article at the perfect time for some of us to get a better feel of the google index. This is a great help!
Wow, its as if you wrote this for me. I actually posted a question about GSC indexing issues, on my website very recently. Thanks for such a detailed article, it can be worrying for someone who has just started out with SEO and the rest.
P.S - I have noticed that google has more indexed/non-indexed pages then actual number or post/pages, is that normal? (One of my websites has 120 indexed and 184 non-indexed pages)
Thanks:)
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Good job, Brenda!
There is so much to this topic; this is a good list of items that can get people excited over no-index items when they don't need to be.
I have bookmarked it to share with others if the subject arises in my sphere of influence. Thank you!!