NoIndex
Telling Google not to include a specific page in search results.
The Tradie Take
NoIndex is like locking the door to your private office. Customers can't see what's in there, but they can still find your showroom. Some pages on your site - like "thanks for your enquiry" pages - don't need to be in Google. NoIndex keeps them out of search results without deleting them.
Definition
NoIndex is an HTML tag that tells search engines not to include a specific page in their index. It's useful for pages that shouldn't appear in search results - like thank-you pages after a form submission, internal admin pages, or duplicate content. Without a NoIndex tag (or password protection), Google might index any page it can access, even pages you don't want searchers to find.
How It Works
- 1 You add <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> to the page's header
- 2 Googlebots see this tag and exclude the page from search results
- 3 The page is still accessible to anyone with the direct link - it's just not in Google
- 4 Use it for thin content pages, duplicate pages, or pages you don't want ranking
Tips for Tradies
- NoIndex thank-you pages, internal admin areas, and pages with thin content
- Use it sparingly - you want most of your pages indexed so they can rank
- Check if any important pages are accidentally NoIndexed via Search Console