What is Noindex?
TL;DR
A directive that tells search engines not to include a page in search results. Add noindex to pages that shouldn't rank, thank you pages, internal search results, author archives on small sites, or staging content. It's different from Robots.txt; noindex lets crawlers see the page but not index it.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Noindex
When should I use noindex?
Use noindex for pages you don't want in search results: thank you pages, duplicate content, thin archive pages, login pages, staging/test content, and internal search results. These pages serve a purpose but don't deserve search visibility.
What's the difference between noindex and robots.txt blocking?
Robots.txt blocks crawling (Google can't see the page). Noindex allows crawling but prevents indexing (Google sees it but won't show it in results). Use noindex when you want Google to understand the page exists but not display it.
How do I add noindex to a page?
Add a meta tag in the page's head: <meta name='robots' content='noindex'>. In WordPress, use Yoast SEO's 'noindex this page' option in page settings. You can also add X-Robots-Tag: noindex in server headers for non-HTML files.
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