Google Reminds Webmasters of Meta NoIndex Issues

Gary Illyes from Google is reminding webmasters to be careful of how they use meta “noindex” tag.

Illyes mentions that most search engines will honor a <meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”> even if it is placed in a body element.

Please be mindful with noindex directives and remember that most search engines will honour it, even if it’s in the BODY element.

Check your includes, make sure you’re not injecting in the DOM a noindex directive! I found the easiest way to do this is with the Chrome Dev tools: open it up on the page you want to check, hit Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F for those who like fruity flavours), and then type noindex. Nothing found? Great!
If you find something like this:
<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”>

John Mueller also adds that “adding an “index” robots meta tag won’t cancel an existing “noindex” one.”

Pedro Dias adds “remember that <meta name=”robots” content =”none” /> is equivalent to <meta name=”robots” content=”noindex,nofollow” />”

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post

Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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