noindex
noindex is an instruction on a page that tells Google not to show it in search results.
Why it matters
Section titled “Why it matters”It’s the right way to keep pages like thank-you pages, internal search results or staff-only pages out of Google. But a noindex left on the wrong page, or the whole site, makes it disappear from search.
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”- Thank-you and confirmation pages
- Login, account and checkout pages
- Internal search results
- Test or duplicate pages you can’t delete
Don’t use noindex to pick between two similar pages. Use a canonical tag for that. And don’t block a noindex page in robots.txt, or Google will never see the instruction.
Check you haven’t hidden your site by mistake
Section titled “Check you haven’t hidden your site by mistake”- WordPress: go to Settings > Reading and make sure Discourage search engines from indexing this site is not ticked. It’s often left on after a site is built.
- Any site: in Search Console, the Pages report lists pages marked Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag. Check none of them should be in Google.
Where to set it
Section titled “Where to set it”| Platform | Where |
|---|---|
| WordPress (Yoast SEO) | Edit the page, open the Yoast SEO box, go to Advanced and set Allow search engines to show this content in search results? to No. |
| WordPress (Rank Math) | Edit the page, open Rank Math, go to Advanced and tick No Index under Robots Meta. |
| Shopify | There’s no per-page switch. It needs a small theme edit or an SEO app, so ask your developer. |
| Wix | In Pages & Menu, open the page’s More Actions menu, select SEO basics and turn off Let search engines index this page. |
| Squarespace | Open the page’s Page settings, go to the SEO tab and turn on Hide page from search results. |
| Custom-built site | Ask your developer to add <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> to the page’s <head>. |
Google’s guide
Section titled “Google’s guide”Block search indexing with noindex (Google Search Central)