What Is Noindex Used for? An Overview + Best Practices

Jul 31, 2024 07:14 PM - 4 months ago 88781

What Is Noindex?

Noindex is simply a norm that tells hunt engines for illustration Google not to scale a fixed webpage—to forestall it from being stored successful a database that’s drawn from to show hunt results.

This intends that erstwhile you noindex a page, hunt engines won’t prevention that page. And it won't show up successful hunt results erstwhile group look for accusation online.

You mightiness noindex pages you don't want nan nationalist to see. Like backstage contented aliases PDF pages connected your site.

In this post, we'll screen everything you request to cognize astir utilizing nan noindex norm effectively.

But first, let’s spell complete why you should attraction astir nan noindex directive successful nan first place.

Why Is Noindexing Important successful SEO?

The noindex norm helps you power which pages are indexed by hunt engines. And that allows you to effect your site's hunt motor optimization (SEO) performance.

For example, let’s opportunity you person bladed pages (those that connection small value) that you’re incapable to region for 1 logic aliases another.

Using noindex rules connected these low-quality pages tin forestall them from negatively impacting your site's SEO performance. And alternatively attraction hunt engines' attraction connected other, much important pages.

That said, you don’t want to accidentally noindex immoderate important pages connected your site. If you do, they won’t rank successful hunt results. Harming your visibility and traffic.

So, ever double-check your noindex implementation.

When to Use nan Noindex Directive

Various types of contented are premier candidates for utilizing nan noindex rule. These include:

Thin pages: These pages don't connection overmuch worth to users, truthful they tin harm your SEO performance
Pages successful a staging environment: These pages aren't meant for nan nationalist to spot aliases use. They're meant for your squad to make updates and cheque things.
Internal admin pages: These pages are meant for you and your team. So, you don’t want them to look successful hunt results.
Thank you pages: These pages are displayed to users aft they’ve completed an action for illustration downloading thing aliases making a purchase. You don't want group uncovering these pages straight from hunt results because it mightiness confuse them.
Downloadable content: These pages are resources that users are meant to entree by filling retired a form. So, you don’t want imaginable prospects uncovering them without having to supply their interaction information.

How to Noindex a Page

Now that you cognize which pages request to beryllium noindexed, it’s clip to get to nan existent implementation.

There are 2 ways to instrumentality nan noindex rule:

As an X-Robots-Tag successful nan HTTP consequence header, which is useful for non-HTML files for illustration PDFs, images, and videos
As a meta tag successful your HTML, which is useful for astir webpages

Implementing a noindex norm via nan HTTP header method is rather method and requires server-level changes.

Basically, you request to adhd a statement of codification to 1 of your server configuration files (usually .htaccess).

For Apache servers (one of nan astir wide utilized web servers), nan codification looks for illustration this if you want to noindex each PDF files crossed your full website.

<Files ~ "\.pdf$">
Header set X-Robots-Tag "noindex"
</Files>

Given nan complexity and imaginable risks involved, we urge seeking thief from a developer. Because moreover a mini syntax correction tin break your website.

As for nan meta tag noindex method, it's comparatively simpler and tin beryllium implemented straight successful your pages’ HTML.

The tag goes successful nan <head> conception and looks for illustration this:

If you're utilizing a contented guidance strategy (CMS) for illustration WordPress, you tin often usage SEO plugins to instrumentality noindex meta tags without straight editing code.

To do that utilizing nan Yoast SEO plugin, unfastened nan page you want to noindex successful nan editor, scroll down to nan Yoast SEO section, and click nan “Advanced” tab.

Under “Allow hunt engines to show this contented successful hunt results?,” prime “No” from nan drop-down.

no action selected to timepiece hunt engines from indexing nan page

Then, prevention nan post.

To usage nan Rank Math SEO plugin, unfastened nan page you want to modify successful nan editor, spell to nan Rank Math SEO section, and click nan “Advanced” tab.

Under "Robots Meta," uncheck nan container adjacent to "Index" and cheque nan 1 adjacent to "No Index" instead.

Save nan station to update your settings.

Best Practices for Using Noindex Rules

Here are immoderate champion practices to support successful mind while you’re moving pinch noindex directives.

1. Don’t Noindex Pages You Want to Appear successful Search Results

The noindex norm prevents a page from getting indexed and shown successful hunt results. So, if you want a page to beryllium recovered done search, don't noindex it.

Use Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to make judge you haven’t accidentally noindexed important pages.

Open nan tool, participate your domain name, and click “Start Audit.”

Follow nan prompts to configure your settings.

When you’re done, click “Start Site Audit.”

After nan audit is complete, caput to nan “Issues” tab. And usage nan hunt barroom to participate “noindex.”

You’ll spot nan number of pages blocked by noindex tags aliases robots.txt (this record tells hunt engines which pages should and shouldn’t beryllium crawled). You’ll besides spot whether immoderate pages are noindexed utilizing nan X-Robots-Tag method.

search for noindex issues shows 210 pages are blocked from crawling

Click nan bluish number successful either rumor to position nan database of affected pages. And verify that nary of those pages person accidentally been noindexed.

2. Don’t Try to Prevent Indexing Using Your Robots.txt File

The robots.txt record tells hunt engines which pages to crawl—not which pages to index.

Even if you artifact a page successful robots.txt, hunt engines mightiness still scale it if they find links to it from different pages.

Plus, you really request hunt engines to beryllium capable to crawl your pages for them to spot nan noindex tag.

Check your robots.txt record to make judge it's not blocking pages you want to noindex.

You tin do this by visiting “[yourdomain.com]/robots.txt.”

Look for nan "Disallow" directives successful your robots.txt file.

These show hunt engines which pages aliases directories they shouldn't access. So, make judge nan pages you want to noindex aren't listed here.

3. Take Steps to Address Nofollow Issues That Might Arise

Noindexing tin harm your SEO if nan webpages you’re blocking from appearing successful hunt results are among nan only links pointing to immoderate of your different pages.

How?

Search engines will only travel links connected a noindexed page for a while. And yet dainty those links arsenic nofollow (i.e., that they shouldn’t beryllium followed aliases walk ranking strength).

If location are different pages connected your tract pinch fewer soul links and immoderate of those links are from your noindexed content, it tin go much difficult for hunt engines to find those different pages.

So, they whitethorn not look successful hunt results. Even if you want them to.

Use Site Audit to look for nan “# pages person only 1 incoming soul link” announcement and click nan bluish number.

site audit shows 26 pages person only 1 incoming soul nexus for this illustration domain

You’ll past spot nan affected pages.

list of pages pinch only 1 incoming soul link

Work to incorporated much links to these pages crossed your site.

This is simply a bully thought moreover if nan only incoming soul nexus isn’t from a noindexed page.

4. Don’t Use a Noindex Directive for Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is erstwhile you person 2 aliases much pages that person precisely nan aforesaid aliases very akin content. Which makes it difficult for hunt engines to determine which type to scale and rank successful hunt results.

original contented vs copied connection for connection vs somewhat rewritten each impact seo

It mightiness look for illustration utilizing noindex tags connected copy pages is simply a bully option, but this isn’t nan champion solution.

Instead, see utilizing canonical tags.

They show hunt engines which type of a page is nan main 1 and should beryllium indexed. Most importantly, they besides consolidate ranking spot from each versions to nan main page.

5. Request a Recrawl if Noindexed Pages Still Appear successful Search Results

Noindexed pages mightiness still look successful hunt results if Google hasn’t recrawled nan page since you added nan noindex tag. But you tin velocity up nan process by manually requesting a recrawl.

To do this, usage Google Search Console (GSC).

Log successful to GSC and click “URL inspection” successful nan left-hand menu.

Now, paste nan URL of nan page you want Google to recrawl. And deed return.

url entered into google hunt console hunt bar

And click "Request Indexing."

Google will past recrawl this page.

6. Regularly Review Your Noindexed Pages

It's important to cheque your noindexed pages from clip to time. Because mistakes tin hap without you noticing. Like if personification connected your squad accidentally noindexed a page.

By monitoring your noindexed pages regularly, you tin find and hole these mistakes quickly. So you don’t spot a dip successful performance.

Keep way of your noindexed pages utilizing nan Site Audit tool.

To make things moreover easier, schedule regular scans.

Just spell to nan “Schedule” tab during setup. And prime nan action to show your website connected a play ground earlier clicking “Start Site Audit.”

site audit schedule tab highlighted pinch action to tally nan audit weekly, each sunday.

This audit will tally connected a play basis. So you tin enactment connected apical of immoderate issues that mightiness harvest up successful nan future.