Hello,
Earlier this week I asked how to delete posts. For those that missed it, click
Thank you for asking this question and getting to the bottom of it! I has truly been frustrating for me as I didn't know the consequences of deleting content that had been indexed.
Now I feel confident and liberated knowing I can move ahead with my plans with the fear of royally messing something up!
-joe
I agree. I am sitting here with content I really want to delete, but just want to know how to do it without causing a search engine hiccup-it just never sat with me to delete from WP and call it "done." I think we now know that we have to take the URL and submit it to GWT, Bing and Yahoo. A daunting task, but it can be done. Glad it helped you too.
Hi. I was thinking the same thing as mackiejw. You be able solve any problems inside webmaster tools.
I haven't deleted anything, but I totally agree with you. There's gotta be a proper procedure in doing this and some training would help.
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What is the correct way to delete posts?
Hello,
Earlier this week I asked how to delete posts. For those that missed it, click
Thank you for asking this question and getting to the bottom of it! I has truly been frustrating for me as I didn't know the consequences of deleting content that had been indexed.
Now I feel confident and liberated knowing I can move ahead with my plans with the fear of royally messing something up!
-joe
I agree. I am sitting here with content I really want to delete, but just want to know how to do it without causing a search engine hiccup-it just never sat with me to delete from WP and call it "done." I think we now know that we have to take the URL and submit it to GWT, Bing and Yahoo. A daunting task, but it can be done. Glad it helped you too.
Hi. I was thinking the same thing as mackiejw. You be able solve any problems inside webmaster tools.
I haven't deleted anything, but I totally agree with you. There's gotta be a proper procedure in doing this and some training would help.
See more comments
Hello~ I have several posts that I want to entirely delete from my site. Can anyone tell me if I can completely delete these posts without any issues?
If I can't just de
I thought all you had to do was bring up posts/pages and click trash to delete the unwanted one. Does that create a problem later on?
Where it matters is if you want to re-post the content elsewhere. You want to make sure that the old is cleared out of Google and such first using the Webmaster Tools as Labman mentioned below.
In google Webmaster Tools. Use the feature available in the robots.txt file to disallow the links you wish to remove.
Takes a bit of time but works nicely. In this case since the offenders are duplicate content from the old version of the site, it makes sense to have Google ignore the posts.
I've deleted posts before. On the very top of your post category you will see, All, Published, Trash, etc. I have put posts in the trash and then deleted them from there. Instead of pulling up a post by using edit, hit trash to send it there. Once you trash it, you can see at the top of the page where it has information on undoing it, or bulk options. There you will check the post that you put in the trash, then click on the delete within the bulk options and it will remove it permanently. I never have had a problem removing them.
RickBell57, your idea is what I do all the time. It is simple, clean and it appears to work well for me. Going into Google tools for webmasters is fine too, but a little more work [for me]. Thanks for the help here!
It can be done with a little planning.
If the posts are indexed you will create 404,s (page not found errors) when they are found in Google search and clicked through. Although it takes a lot of 404,s to start effecting the way your website preforms in search its always good to have a tidy site structure.
Using a plugin like https://wordpress.org/plugins/redirection/ I would write down every post I want to delete and redirect them to the home page or similar page/post of your website BEFORE deleting them.
Also make sure there are no handcrafted static links to your pages in other posts/pages/menus/sidebars on your website.
Thanks for the reply. There are occasional times when you might want to delete a post. Like posts for special days , Mother's and Father's Days and others that aren't relevent anymore.
I just want these posts gone. I don't need to redirect them or anything, just gone. Would I still need to take all the above steps?
Everything will drop out of Google given enough time and a few 404,s aren't going to destroy your website, this is just a clean way of doing it and still holding on to any possible search traffic.
Have seen your comments below about the posts being generated by a plugin, any chance we can get a link to one?
Its OK, I didn't word that question very well and the moment of curiosity has passed.
Hope you get your site sorted out :)
You would need a good reason to do this. Deleting posts that are ranking is never a good idea (and getting traffic) as you are essentially throwing good opportunity away.
But by no means are you punished if you are removing content from your website, but it is something that I have never done or had a reason to do.
I took over this site from someone else. They have Amazon posts directly from a plug in. I would like all of these Amazon posts deleted. They aren't ranking, they are not producing sales/conversions. Actually, I think they are hurting the site along with the plug in. That's why I'm asking, I would like these posts off ASAP, but don't want to rock any boats either. Thoughts?
Yeah, definitely constitutes a deletion. I think you will be absolutely fine and better off if you delete pages like this that are potentially hurting your site and your rankings (if the damage hasn't already been done).
There a few things to consider the length of time the post has been live, why are you deleting, could a rewrite be better? You can remove posts and place a 301 re-direct on your site to take traffic to a menu or another post. You can also remove the url from your webmaster tools on Google to stop any unwanted indexing errors appearing. However before doing it consider re-writing them if they are getting some traffic.
Thank you. I should have made it clear that these are posts that feed in from a plug in from Amazon. I think this plug in and the "posts" are starting to hurt my site. These posts aren't content, per se.
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Can we completely delete posts without creating any issues?
Hello~ I have several posts that I want to entirely delete from my site. Can anyone tell me if I can completely delete these posts without any issues?
If I can't just de
I thought all you had to do was bring up posts/pages and click trash to delete the unwanted one. Does that create a problem later on?
Where it matters is if you want to re-post the content elsewhere. You want to make sure that the old is cleared out of Google and such first using the Webmaster Tools as Labman mentioned below.
In google Webmaster Tools. Use the feature available in the robots.txt file to disallow the links you wish to remove.
Takes a bit of time but works nicely. In this case since the offenders are duplicate content from the old version of the site, it makes sense to have Google ignore the posts.
I've deleted posts before. On the very top of your post category you will see, All, Published, Trash, etc. I have put posts in the trash and then deleted them from there. Instead of pulling up a post by using edit, hit trash to send it there. Once you trash it, you can see at the top of the page where it has information on undoing it, or bulk options. There you will check the post that you put in the trash, then click on the delete within the bulk options and it will remove it permanently. I never have had a problem removing them.
RickBell57, your idea is what I do all the time. It is simple, clean and it appears to work well for me. Going into Google tools for webmasters is fine too, but a little more work [for me]. Thanks for the help here!
It can be done with a little planning.
If the posts are indexed you will create 404,s (page not found errors) when they are found in Google search and clicked through. Although it takes a lot of 404,s to start effecting the way your website preforms in search its always good to have a tidy site structure.
Using a plugin like https://wordpress.org/plugins/redirection/ I would write down every post I want to delete and redirect them to the home page or similar page/post of your website BEFORE deleting them.
Also make sure there are no handcrafted static links to your pages in other posts/pages/menus/sidebars on your website.
Thanks for the reply. There are occasional times when you might want to delete a post. Like posts for special days , Mother's and Father's Days and others that aren't relevent anymore.
I just want these posts gone. I don't need to redirect them or anything, just gone. Would I still need to take all the above steps?
Everything will drop out of Google given enough time and a few 404,s aren't going to destroy your website, this is just a clean way of doing it and still holding on to any possible search traffic.
Have seen your comments below about the posts being generated by a plugin, any chance we can get a link to one?
Its OK, I didn't word that question very well and the moment of curiosity has passed.
Hope you get your site sorted out :)
You would need a good reason to do this. Deleting posts that are ranking is never a good idea (and getting traffic) as you are essentially throwing good opportunity away.
But by no means are you punished if you are removing content from your website, but it is something that I have never done or had a reason to do.
I took over this site from someone else. They have Amazon posts directly from a plug in. I would like all of these Amazon posts deleted. They aren't ranking, they are not producing sales/conversions. Actually, I think they are hurting the site along with the plug in. That's why I'm asking, I would like these posts off ASAP, but don't want to rock any boats either. Thoughts?
Yeah, definitely constitutes a deletion. I think you will be absolutely fine and better off if you delete pages like this that are potentially hurting your site and your rankings (if the damage hasn't already been done).
There a few things to consider the length of time the post has been live, why are you deleting, could a rewrite be better? You can remove posts and place a 301 re-direct on your site to take traffic to a menu or another post. You can also remove the url from your webmaster tools on Google to stop any unwanted indexing errors appearing. However before doing it consider re-writing them if they are getting some traffic.
Thank you. I should have made it clear that these are posts that feed in from a plug in from Amazon. I think this plug in and the "posts" are starting to hurt my site. These posts aren't content, per se.
See more comments
I am trying to apply for an affiliate relationship with Avant Link. They sent me an email asking me to either do a JavaScript placement verification or a file upload verification
Yes, verification is done like that sometimes. However, I just want to comment on the responses you received here today. To me it just reinforces the decision I made to join WA. Good luck.
The community here is totally amazing and very helpful! I agree that you made the right decision to join WA-you will not regret it.
Sounds like you have a couple different questions, which need attention. I suggest you pick the most important problem to solve, and open up a discussion on that subject. You'll be surprised at how fast the WA community will respond, and help you out.
Welshy AGAIN was the knight on a white horse. Yes, he helped me. BUT, I have realized that I have a whole lot of back door web "stuff" to learn. I am through this small hiccup, but I need to learn all I can about Javascripts, FTP, FileZilla and Cpanels oh my!?
Not sure if you've figure this out yet or not.
Step one, download the file to your computer.
Step two, download and install FileZilla
Step three, connect to your domain
Step four, open up(go inside) the HTTPDOCS folder
Step five, upload/drag the file you download over into the HTTPDOCS folder and it will upload.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/ftp-filezilla-connecting-to-domain-via-ftp
The easy option if you haven't used FTP is to use the javascript method.
Jump to the 4 minute mark of this video, instead of the analytics code you'll be using the code they provide.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/manually-adding-google-analytics-to-your-website
Welshy, I was wondering if you would jump in here. This is right up your alley, even though we don't know each other, I've seen your strengths here the months I have been a WA member. I have done none of the below yet-this feels above my head. You are suggesting that the Javascript method is easier???
Welshy, I am willing to learn all of this and now know I HAVE to learn all of this, but my goal for today is to just get Avant Link the information they need. Then I now know I need to learn all of this and understand Cpanels too. Just when I thought I was through a learning curve-I am in the midst of another one.
Just watched Kyle's video, starting at the 4:00 min mark. Would I put the code in the same spot that Kyle place the GA code? I'm not sure about Kyle's comment "be careful, this can delete your whole site." Holy moly. ~big gulp with an upset stomach~
Sorry was pulled away from computer.
Yes I would recommend just following Kyles video and adding the javascript.
You can not delete you site by adding code to the header file, but you can easily break your site if you add code to the wrong area.
But it's easy fix and you can just PM me or ask support to help fix it should that happen.
Your also more than welcome to just email me the code and login details and I'll do it for you if you'd prefer.
Lol I was going to tell you to pm him when I first read this question because Ive seen him mention the ftp stuff alot. Glad that you were able to get it figured out =)
Hi,
Normally, verification files will be uploaded to the root directory of your website, via the FTP client.
Let me explain:
The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client is your desktop application, which will let you upload files and pages DIRECTLY to your website, without using an online platform like WordPress.
I use FileZilla - it's free and functional.
To use it, you will need to give it the log in details to your hosting account; you should have these details in your hosting company's cPanel, or at least received the email from them, when you set up the hosting.
Once you have done this, you will want to go (with your FTP client) into the "public_html" folder, and, if you have more than one site hosted, go into the folder of particular website in question.
When you're in this folder, drag the verification file from the left-hand column of your FTP, into the website folder; it will transfer / upload.
After you've done that, follow whatever validation / verification instructions the verifier has asked of you. Generally, there is a dashboard of sorts, from where you click "Verify"... or something to that effect.
Hope this helps!
-Josh
As the reply above explains, FTP, file transfer protocol, is just another way of adding content to your website. It really used to be the preferred way, especially back in the day when hosts used to charge for actual traffic and connection time.
We have gotten so used to, and spoiled by, front end gadgets such as dashboards, that we forget, or never learn the basics. FTP is a basic of hosting, and actually, once you try it, you may prefer it.
You can add content, refresh your website, and instantly see the new content. FTP is totally safe and secure. I suggest you just do a bit of reading on it to grow more comfortable with the idea. It's great for transferring images, especially!
You can upload several files at a time and have them there, waiting in the background, for when you call them with html.
One way to think about it is, the dashboard is like a storefront window. All dressed up, ptetty, everything easy to see. FTP is the warehouse, where all the supplies are kept. Personally, I prefer the grassroots sort of feel that FTP gives. Getting your hands down in there sort of thing.
In essence, it allows you to have a file on your pc, to build content there, then just do a batch upload, and bam! Pretty page!
Definitely take the advice in the other posts, I prefer almost anything to Java, which has some known vulnerabilities.
There is so much more to the 'internet' than just the web. Aside from FTP, html, you have IRC, news groups, and telnet, and gopher, to name a few. The internet is a HUGE place!
I have explained to a few people that graphical interfaces, what we actually see with our browsers, is just a way to pretty up some pretty complicated coding. It's also window dressing, in it's own way. The term html in itself, what makes a webpage run, is hypertext markup language. You could consider it a type of programming.
To actually see it, visit your website, click someplace on your page on the text, then go to View Source. A window will open with all sorts of crazy looking stuff. That is the guts of your pretty page, and that is where the FTP, Java, and all other things actually talk to your browser.
Try it!
P.S. Don't worry. Yes, anyone that visits any page can view your source. But, they cannot change it! It looks like a text file, but the only one with access to edit that file is you, the admin. A kind of fun thing to do is to visit huge corporate websites, and click view source on their pages. It gives a huge appreciation for not only what your browser can do, but what WA provides behind the scenes, and how they have done so much to make things one button simple for everyone, in so many aspects. Especially Build Your Website, and Move Your Website.
Yup, the good ol' days before WP / Joomla, et al., where'd we work on a site in Dreamweaver, or hard code it the HTML in Notepad, then up it via FTP... Certainly gave you a TONNE of control over your site!
I had no idea! So, viewing source is how Avant Link will verify that the requested link has been place on my site?
In all honesty, one of the delays I have had in working on my website is in trying to find a way to integrate my own html into WP, and having a lynx friendly page. Even with all of the gadgets and dashboards, I prefer the notepad way, because of the control it gives me. I also have strong opinions about the disabled not being able to access/view many, even most websites. I have been researching this, to see if it's feaseable. Not certain what advancements have been made as far as teletype and lynx browsers. I just dislike the idea of excluding an entire group of people, that's lost potential customers, and sales!
Anyway, back on topic, I hope you learn more about the FTP protocol. In the end, I bet you will like it!
Likely, just a verification bot will visit your site and either look for the text file or the Javascript. But, basically, yes. All bots view source. Bots don't care how pretty, etc., your site is. They go for the gold, the content.
This goes for both good bots, and bad. This is why you cannot 'hide' keyword spam or other things on your page from Google, things like that slow the good bots down terribly, plus, Google considers it a bad thing.
Seems a bit strange to have to access ftp to be an affiliare. Try searching ftp, i know there is something in there that will help you out. i have looked through it before but not that confident i could explain how to go through it all. Maybe this will help - https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/wa-hosting-ftp-wabinar
What was the other option you had? I had to do a verification similar to this for a blog tracking site that would post my blogs in places and they required it so that they could post them with me as the author and owner of the site. It is simply to verify that the site you are saying is your site is indeed your site and you're not just giving them some random name. My verification was a widget code though that they could look for and then remove. I don't know anything about ftp files though I know plenty of people do =) so an answer should be forthcoming.
Hi Autumn! My other option was: JavaScript placement verification - An affiliate application can be confirmation by placing a JavaScript call on the homepage of your website and then letting AvantLink verify that the script has been placed on the page. As soon as that step is complete you may remove the line of JavaScript.
I have never heard of this type verification before! Not for an affiliate verification! I have had phone conversations and tons of written questions. CJ and Amazon did not require this when I got approved!
Look at it as an adventure! I'm sure you will be offered step by step instruction, very soon. I have done it before, but to walk someone else through it, I would not be comfortable!
It's common enough.
Google, MSN, and Yahoo (among others) will have you do this as well, to establish and validate ownership rights to the site, and use some analytics.
-Josh
Google had me use it, but I have never had to use it for affiliate site verification before, that is what is new to me.
Kary, I didn't have to do anything like that for Amazon when I became an associate. I've done ftp uploads and downloads before, but never with WordPress. I'll be eagerly watching to see how the gurus here help you out. I'm confident someone will come to your rescue soon!
.............................Pat
Pat, I hope you are right. So far, I haven't gotten any clear cut answers. This is really stressing me out too. It is an eye opener that everything I thought I knew is only a scratch on the surface. There is a whole lotta "world" about web design that I don't know.
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Calling in the "Forces"- Need help authenticating administrative rights for Avant Link.
I am trying to apply for an affiliate relationship with Avant Link. They sent me an email asking me to either do a JavaScript placement verification or a file upload verification
Yes, verification is done like that sometimes. However, I just want to comment on the responses you received here today. To me it just reinforces the decision I made to join WA. Good luck.
The community here is totally amazing and very helpful! I agree that you made the right decision to join WA-you will not regret it.
Sounds like you have a couple different questions, which need attention. I suggest you pick the most important problem to solve, and open up a discussion on that subject. You'll be surprised at how fast the WA community will respond, and help you out.
I think you also need to trash it, not just delete it. And empty the trash.