What Is a Noindex Tag? How to Keep Pages Out of Google

A noindex tag tells search engines not to show a page in their results. This guide explains how the tag works and when to use it. It also shows the one mistake that stops it from working at all.

Updated 26 Oct 20268 min readChecked against Google Search Central

Quick answer

Noindex is a rule you add with a meta robots tag, such as <meta name="robots" content="noindex">. You can also add it with an X-Robots-Tag HTTP header. When Google crawls the page and sees it, Google drops the page from search results. The page must stay crawlable, or Google never sees the rule.

Written by Usman AliGrowth and SEO specialist · 7 years in SEO

Reviewed by Amir ShahidSenior SEO strategist · 9+ years in SEO

The basics

What Does Noindex Mean, in Plain Words

Noindex tells search engines they may crawl a page, but must not show it in search results.

Search engines index almost every page they can reach. For most pages, that is exactly what you want. Some pages, though, have no value in search. A thank-you page after a form only adds clutter to results. The same is true of a login screen or a thin tag archive.

The noindex rule removes those pages from results. Visitors can still open them through your menus or links. The only thing that changes is the search listing. It is one of the main tools in search engine indexing control, together with the canonical tag. If the stages of search are still new to you, our basic guide to search engines explains them in order.

Meta robots tag

Inside the page

A line in the head of an HTML page. This is the easiest method, since most SEO plugins add it with one click.

X-Robots-Tag header

Sent by the server

This version is a rule sent in the HTTP response. Use it for files without a head section, such as PDFs or images.

See the code

Noindex Tag Examples You Can Copy

Pick the version that matches the file type. Each one does the same job in a different place.

All search engines

<meta name="robots" content="noindex">

Google only

<meta name="googlebot" content="noindex">

Noindex and stop following links

<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">

PDF or image (HTTP header)

X-Robots-Tag: noindex

In WordPress, you rarely write this code yourself. SEO plugins let you set noindex for a single post, or for whole groups such as tag pages. In the Reading settings, a box called Discourage search engines adds noindex to the entire site.

Use it wisely

When to Noindex a Page and When Not To

A good rule: noindex pages a searcher would never want to land on from Google.

Page type	Noindex it?	Why
Thank-you or order confirmation	Yes	Useless without the action before it
Login, account or cart pages	Yes	Private, with no search value
Internal search results	Yes	Endless thin pages with mixed content
Thin tag or author archives	Usually	Often duplicate your real posts
Staging or test sites	Yes	Should never compete with the live site
Duplicate page versions	No	Use a canonical tag instead
Old pages that moved	No	Use a 301 redirect instead

The big mistake

Noindex vs Robots.txt: Never Use Both

Blocking a noindex page in robots.txt stops the noindex rule from working.

01You block itThe robots.txt file says Disallow for the same page.

02Google stays outGooglebot never opens the page, so it never reads the noindex tag.

03It can still showLinks from other sites keep the URL in results, often with no description.

The fix is simple once you spot it. Remove the Disallow rule so Google can crawl the page to see the noindex. Once the page has left the index, you can leave it like that. Our robots.txt guide explains why the file controls crawling, not indexing.

Real-world case

The Checkbox That Hides a Whole Website

Case study

Our own site was built behind a noindex

While we built searchenginebasics.tech, the WordPress setting Discourage search engines stayed switched on. That one checkbox adds a noindex rule to every page. It kept unfinished drafts out of Google while the guides were written.

Build phaseDuring the build, every page on the site carries noindex. Google can visit, yet nothing appears in results.
The riskMany sites launch without ever unticking that box. Months later they wonder why traffic never arrives.
Launch dayUntick the box before checking a page source for noindex. After that, submit your sitemap again in Search Console.
After launchUse URL Inspection on key pages to confirm indexing is allowed.

Lesson: add a launch checklist step that confirms noindex is gone from every page you want found.

The full family

Other Robots Meta Directives You Should Know

Noindex is one of several rules you can place in a robots meta tag or an X-Robots-Tag header.

Directive	What it does
noindex, follow	Keeps the page out of results while crawlers still follow its links
nofollow	Asks search engines not to follow any link on the page
none	A short way to write noindex, nofollow
nosnippet	Shows the page in results with no text snippet under the title
noarchive	Asks engines not to offer a cached copy; Bing still honours it, while Google no longer shows cached pages
data-nosnippet	An HTML attribute that hides one part of the page from snippets
max-snippet	Sets the longest snippet, in characters, that Google may show
max-image-preview	Controls how large an image preview can appear
noimageindex	Keeps images on the page out of image search
notranslate	Stops Google from offering a translation of the page
unavailable_after	Drops the page from results after a date you choose

Noarchive only affects the stored cached copy, whereas nosnippet changes how the listing itself looks in results. If two rules conflict, Google follows the most restrictive one. For a page that must disappear today, use the Removals tool in Search Console as a quick fix. Keep the noindex tag in place, so the page stays out after the temporary removal ends.

Step by step

How to Check a Noindex Tag

Use these checks before launch, or whenever a page vanishes from search.

01View sourcePress Ctrl+U to open the page source before searching it for noindex.

02Check headersLook for X-Robots-Tag in the browser network panel.

03URL InspectionSearch Console shows if indexing is allowed.

04Indexing reportFind every page marked Excluded by noindex tag.

Go through the Excluded by noindex list carefully. Every page there should be one you chose to hide. If you spot an important page there, remove the tag before you request indexing. Our guide to checking if a page is indexed covers these reports step by step.

Link value

Noindex, Links and PageRank

A noindexed page can still pass PageRank for a while, although that support fades if the rule stays in place for good.

When Google crawls a page carrying noindex, it still reads the links on that page. In the short term those links behave like any others, so PageRank can flow through to the pages they point at. Google has explained that a page left on noindex for a long time is eventually crawled less, until its links are treated much like nofollow.

That has practical consequences for how a site is structured. If a tag archive is the only route to your products, noindexing it for years can weaken the internal links those products rely on. A safer pattern is to keep important pages linked from indexable hubs such as menus, breadcrumbs or related guides.

Noindex also has a modest effect on crawl budget. Googlebot still has to fetch a noindexed URL to see the rule, so the tag saves no crawling at first. Over time those pages are visited less often, which frees some attention for the pages you want ranked. On huge sites with millions of filter URLs, a robots.txt block or cleaner URL design saves far more crawling than noindex alone.

Troubleshooting

Fixing an Accidental Noindex

Most unwanted noindex rules come from a single forgotten setting, so the fix is usually quick once you find the source.

Start with WordPress itself, where the Reading screen under Settings holds a Search engine visibility option. Its box labelled Discourage search engines from indexing this site must stay unticked on any live site. Next, open your SEO plugin to review its search appearance settings, since many plugins can noindex whole content types, categories or author archives with one toggle. Individual posts may also carry their own advanced setting that overrides the site default.

A meta robots noindex rule is easy to spot in the page source, but a header rule stays hidden from view. Run curl -I https://example.com/page/ in a terminal to print the response headers, then look for an X-Robots-Tag line containing noindex. If one appears, the cause usually sits in the server configuration, a CDN rule or a caching layer.

Some pages genuinely belong out of search, which is where noindex earns its place. Paid ad landing pages built for one campaign, thin internal search results and near-empty archives are all sensible candidates. Remember that noindex is not a security feature, since anyone who has the URL can still open the page. Private documents need a password or login, because hiding them from results does nothing to protect them.

FAQ

Questions About Noindex

How long does noindex take to work?

The page drops out after Google next crawls it. That can take a few days or several weeks. Requesting indexing in Search Console can speed up the visit.

Does noindex stop Google from crawling?

No, Google still crawls noindex pages, although it tends to visit them less often over time.

Can I use noindex in robots.txt?

No, Google stopped supporting noindex inside robots.txt in September 2019. Put the rule in a meta tag or an HTTP header instead.

Do links on a noindex page still count?

At first, Google still follows the links on a noindex page. Google has said that pages left on noindex for a long time may eventually be treated like nofollow, so their links stop helping.

Is noindex bad for SEO?

No, using it on thin or private pages helps search engines focus on your best content. It only hurts when it lands on a page you want to rank.

Do noindexed pages pass PageRank?

Yes at first, because Google still crawls the page while following its links. If the rule stays for months, Google may stop following those links, so PageRank gradually stops flowing through them.

How do I remove noindex in WordPress?

Open Settings, then Reading, then untick Discourage search engines from indexing this site. Next, check your SEO plugin for content types or single posts set to noindex, then request indexing in Search Console.

Wrapping up

Final Thoughts on Noindex

The noindex tag is a small line with a lot of power. Used well, it keeps thin or private pages out of search. That lets your best pages stand out. Used carelessly, it can make a whole site disappear from Google.

Keep three simple rules in mind when you use it. First, put noindex only on pages a searcher would never want to find. Second, never block those same pages in robots.txt, because Google must crawl a page to see the tag. Third, check your Excluded by noindex report after every launch or redesign. Pair noindex with canonical tags for duplicates, plus redirects for moved pages. With those tools working together, you decide exactly what Google shows.

Keep learning

Where to Go Next

/crawling/xml-sitemap/XML sitemapList only pages you want indexed./resources/glossary/Search engine glossaryEvery indexing term, defined./serp/What is a SERP?Where indexed pages show up./how-search-engines-work/How search engines workWhere indexing fits in./crawling/googlebot/What is Googlebot?The crawler that reads the tag./seo-basics/SEO basicsWhere indexing fits in SEO.