Before we answer the question “How” let me give a couple of reason “Why” you would want to remove a page from Google Search listing. After all, being listed on Google is everyone’s dream. Would you not want to make sure all your pages are indexed?
Why would I remove a page from the Search Engine index?
Pages with functional purpose
Not all pages on your website contain information that is pertinent to search engines and advertises your business. Some pages just serve a utilitarian purpose. Like a Thank You page redirect after a user submitted a specific form, a Custom Post Type archive that was generated by WordPress but does not actually contain any meaningful information, or a Parent Page created to introduce hierarchy to your page tree.
Information leaks
There is some information about your website content that you might want to keep away from the bots. A good example is a blog author listing, privacy policy page, terms and conditions. These pages often include email addresses and internal information that does not need to be broadcasted all over the internet.
Page with outdated information
If you have old, outdated pages on your website, they should not only be removed from the search engine, they should be removed from your site altogether. More on that topic below.
How do I remove a page from the Search Engine index?
Put the page in draft mode
If the page is indexed with a search engine but you really do not want anyone to visit it, regardless of the circumstances, you should put the page in draft mode or delete it all together. Next time the website is re-indexed, a missing page will be removed from the list.
Check the “exclude from search engine” box.
If you are using an SEO plugin, such as Yoast you will have the option to exclude pages from the sitemap xml file that the search engines use. At the bottom of each page look for these advanced settings.
You can also visit the Yoast settings and exclude specific Custom Post Types of Custom Post Type Archives from being listed.
Remove all backlinks to that page
Besides the xml sitemap mentioned above, the search engines index pages based on links. If a page is linked to from another page of a website, it will receive more attention from the indexing bot. You can check how many other websites reference your page by using online tools like this backlink checker.
Remove from Google Search Console
Your last resort will be to explicitly request a page removal using the Google Search Console.
How long does it take to get a page removed from a Search Engine?
It depends on how popular your page was, how many backlinks it had and how high your site is ranked. If your website has a high ranking it will be re-indexed with Google more frequently and the page will be removed faster. For smaller websites, you can expect to wait at least 5 days for a specific page to be removed.
Still having trouble with the search engine and need help? Reach out to our developers and we can assist you with any search engine related questions.
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/google-search-engine-on-macbook-pro-40185/
