How To Fix 'Excluded By Noindex Tag' In Google Search Console

Seeing 'Excluded By Noindex Tag' in Google Search Console means Google found a noindex instruction on a page and decided not to add that page to its search index.

This is not always a problem. Some pages are intentionally set to noindex, such as pages you do not want appearing in Google Search. However, if the page is an important blog post, page or other content that you want people to find through Google, you need to remove the noindex instruction.

Here is how to find the cause and fix it.

What Does 'Excluded By Noindex Tag' Mean?

A noindex directive tells Google not to include a particular page in its search results.

Google can find this instruction in the page's HTML or through an HTTP response header. When Google crawls the page and detects noindex, it does not index the URL.

Check The Affected Page In Google Search Console

Before changing anything on your website, confirm that the page is actually affected by the noindex directive.

Open Google Search Console and inspect the affected URL.

Under the indexing information, check whether Google reports that indexing is prevented by noindex.

You can also use the URL Inspection tool to investigate the specific page and see how Google currently views it.

Test The Live URL

After confirming the issue, use the Test Live URL option in URL Inspection.

This checks the current version of the page rather than relying only on Google's previous crawl.

Look under the indexing information to see whether the noindex instruction is still detected.

If the live test still finds noindex, you need to remove it before Google can index the page.

Remove Noindex From WordPress

If your website runs on WordPress, the noindex setting may have been added through your SEO plugin or another WordPress setting.

Open the affected post or page in your WordPress dashboard and check its search engine visibility settings.

Depending on the SEO plugin you use, look for an option that controls whether search engines should index the page.

Make sure the page is set to index rather than noindex.

Save or update the page after changing the setting.

Check Your SEO Plugin

SEO plugins can control whether individual posts, pages, categories and other content types can be indexed.

If you cannot find the noindex setting in the normal WordPress editor, check the SEO settings for the affected page.

Also check the global settings for your website. A setting applied to an entire content type can cause multiple pages to receive a noindex directive.

This is particularly important if several pages are appearing under the same 'Excluded By Noindex Tag' reason.

Check The Page Source

If you are unsure where the noindex instruction is coming from, you can check the page source.

Open the affected page and inspect its HTML for noindex.

You can also check the response headers because Google can receive a noindex instruction through an HTTP header as well as through the page source.

If you find noindex in either location and the page should be indexed, remove the instruction or change the setting responsible for adding it.

Check Robots.txt Too

Do not confuse noindex with a robots.txt block.

A robots.txt rule prevents Google from crawling a URL, while noindex tells Google not to index a page after it has been crawled.

If a page is blocked by robots.txt, Google may not be able to access the page and see the noindex instruction.

Therefore, check your robots.txt file if the page still cannot be indexed after removing the noindex setting.

Request Indexing After Fixing The Page

Once you have removed the noindex directive, return to Google Search Console and inspect the URL again.

Use Test Live URL to confirm that Google no longer detects the noindex instruction.

If the live test shows that the page can now be indexed, select Request Indexing.

This tells Google that the page has changed and asks Google to crawl it again. However, requesting indexing does not guarantee that the page will immediately appear in Google Search.

Why Is My Page Still Not Indexed After Removing Noindex?

Removing noindex only removes one reason preventing the page from being indexed.

Google may still decide not to index a page for other reasons, including technical problems, duplicate content or other indexing issues.

Use URL Inspection to check the current status of the page and read the reason Google provides.

It can also take time for Google to recrawl and process changes to a page. After requesting indexing, give Google time to process the change rather than expecting an immediate result.

Should You Fix Every 'Excluded By Noindex Tag' Page?

No.

If you intentionally set a page to noindex, there is nothing to fix.

It is normal for some URLs not to be indexed when there is a valid reason for excluding them from Google Search.

The important thing is to check whether the affected page is supposed to appear in Google Search.

If it is an important article or page that you want visitors to find through Google, remove the noindex directive and request indexing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does 'Excluded By Noindex Tag' Mean My Website Has A Problem?

Not necessarily. It simply means Google found a noindex instruction and did not index the affected URL. If you intentionally added the instruction, you do not need to change anything.

How Do I Remove A Noindex Tag?

Find the setting or code responsible for adding noindex and change the page to allow indexing. On WordPress, this is often controlled through the page's SEO settings or your site's broader indexing settings.

How Long Does Google Take To Index A Page After Removing Noindex?

There is no guaranteed time. After removing the directive, you can use URL Inspection to test the live page and request indexing. Google may take some time to crawl and process the change.

Can I Leave Pages Marked 'Excluded By Noindex Tag'?

Yes. If those pages are intentionally excluded from Google Search, you can leave them that way. The status itself does not mean you have to make every URL indexable.

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