How to avoid being de-indexed
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2024 7:17 am
We’ve already talked about how to get your site indexed on Google and other search engines, but it’s also important to understand why your website might be de-indexed (i.e. you were on the search engine and are no longer there).
First of all, know that it is rare for a site to be de-indexed. It is certainly not something you will see happen often.
But when it does happen, the cause is usually one of the ones listed below.
Your site has been blocked with a "NoIndex"
Probably the most common cause of sites indian mobile number database getting de-indexed is when a developer accidentally forgets a "noindex" directive while uploading the code.
This usually occurs in the form of a noindex meta tag or a "noindex" header in the HTTP request. You can learn more about this here .
If your site was de-indexed because noindex directives were added by mistake, you should remove them and resubmit your site.
You have been hit by a manual action
Also known as a manual penalty, you may occasionally find that your site has been de-indexed because a member of the webspam team has decided to remove your site from search results due to violations of Google's Webmaster Guidelines.
You can find out whether your site was hit by a manual action or not within Google Search Console, and learn more about the different types here .
Again, this is rare unless the site has specifically violated the Webmaster Guidelines. It is not something to worry about if you follow the rules.
Glossary of terms
Bing Webmaster Tools: A free service provided by Bing that allows webmasters to add their sites to the search engine and view their performance.
De-indexed: When a site that was in a search engine's index is removed from it, either accidentally or as a result of specific actions taken.
Google Search Console: Formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools, this free tool allows webmasters to see and manage their sites' search engine performance.
Google Index: Imagine that Google's index is similar to a library index, but instead of books, it lists web pages available on Google.
Inbound Links: Links on other sites that point to yours.
Internal Links: Links between two pages on your own site.
Manual Action: An action (or penalty) that a Google member applies to your site to negatively impact its performance when the site is deemed to violate the Webmaster Guidelines.
Noindex: A directive added to request that a site or web page be de-indexed.
Re-index Pages: A tool in Yandex to request priority indexing of a page.
Site: search operator: A simple way to pull up a list of URLs available on Google for a particular domain.
URL Inspection Tool: A tool available in Google Search Console that you can use to check the indexing status of a URL.
URL Submission Tool: Bing's tool that allows you to submit new URLs for indexing.
XML Sitemap: The XML sitemap that is submitted to a search engine indicates the main pages that should be indexed.
Yandex Webmaster Tools: An alternative to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, but for the Russian search engine Yandex.
First of all, know that it is rare for a site to be de-indexed. It is certainly not something you will see happen often.
But when it does happen, the cause is usually one of the ones listed below.
Your site has been blocked with a "NoIndex"
Probably the most common cause of sites indian mobile number database getting de-indexed is when a developer accidentally forgets a "noindex" directive while uploading the code.
This usually occurs in the form of a noindex meta tag or a "noindex" header in the HTTP request. You can learn more about this here .
If your site was de-indexed because noindex directives were added by mistake, you should remove them and resubmit your site.
You have been hit by a manual action
Also known as a manual penalty, you may occasionally find that your site has been de-indexed because a member of the webspam team has decided to remove your site from search results due to violations of Google's Webmaster Guidelines.
You can find out whether your site was hit by a manual action or not within Google Search Console, and learn more about the different types here .
Again, this is rare unless the site has specifically violated the Webmaster Guidelines. It is not something to worry about if you follow the rules.
Glossary of terms
Bing Webmaster Tools: A free service provided by Bing that allows webmasters to add their sites to the search engine and view their performance.
De-indexed: When a site that was in a search engine's index is removed from it, either accidentally or as a result of specific actions taken.
Google Search Console: Formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools, this free tool allows webmasters to see and manage their sites' search engine performance.
Google Index: Imagine that Google's index is similar to a library index, but instead of books, it lists web pages available on Google.
Inbound Links: Links on other sites that point to yours.
Internal Links: Links between two pages on your own site.
Manual Action: An action (or penalty) that a Google member applies to your site to negatively impact its performance when the site is deemed to violate the Webmaster Guidelines.
Noindex: A directive added to request that a site or web page be de-indexed.
Re-index Pages: A tool in Yandex to request priority indexing of a page.
Site: search operator: A simple way to pull up a list of URLs available on Google for a particular domain.
URL Inspection Tool: A tool available in Google Search Console that you can use to check the indexing status of a URL.
URL Submission Tool: Bing's tool that allows you to submit new URLs for indexing.
XML Sitemap: The XML sitemap that is submitted to a search engine indicates the main pages that should be indexed.
Yandex Webmaster Tools: An alternative to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, but for the Russian search engine Yandex.