Free report
Menu Close

Excluded by noindex tag: what it means and how to fix it

'Excluded by noindex tag' means the page told Google not to index it, and Google complied. The instruction is on the page itself, in its code or in the response the server sends with it. If the page was meant to stay out of search, the status is a success. If it was meant to be found, the instruction has to be found and removed.

Updated

This guide, surveyed at release eab6db0 on 19 October 2026: words per section.

Each sounding opens its section

  1. 01 What the status means 51 words
  2. 02 When it is intended 40 words
  3. 03 When it is a mistake 82 words
  4. 04 Where to look, by platform 103 words
  5. 05 How to confirm and fix 85 words
  6. 06 Questions people ask 129 words
  7. 07 Free competitor gap report 104 words
  8. 08 More in this series 241 words
Words
835
Site 366–1,117 · median 749.5
Sections (H2)
8
Site 3–14 · median 9
Internal links
30
Site 1–36 · median 19
File
71.9 kB
HTML, uncompressed · of 83.6 kB budget · 0 scripts

Sheet

022 of 126

Release eab6db0

Standard 49 · 101 checks

What the status means

Google’s Page indexing report says of this status that when Google tried to index the page it met a noindex directive and so did not index it. The directive is an instruction in the page: a meta tag in its code, or a header sent with it.

When it is intended

Plenty of pages should stay out of search: thank-you pages, internal search results, account pages, thin tag archives, a site still being built. A list of those under this status is correct, and nothing needs doing.

When it is a mistake

The status is a problem when the pages listed are ones customers should find. The usual causes are these.

  • A whole site built with a “discourage search engines” setting that was never switched off at launch.
  • A single page with indexing switched off in its SEO settings.
  • A type of page, such as all blog posts or all products, excluded by an SEO plugin’s settings.
  • A code snippet with noindex in it, pasted into the site’s header.

Where to look, by platform

Each platform keeps the switch in a different place.

  • WordPress: Settings, then Reading, for the whole site. The SEO plugin for each page and each content type. Our guide to a WordPress site not showing on Google covers both.
  • Wix: the site-wide switch in SEO Settings, and each page’s own SEO settings. See Wix site not showing on Google.
  • Squarespace: “Hide this page from search results” in the page’s SEO tab, and any code injection. See Squarespace site not showing on Google.
  • Shopify: a page hidden from search engines in its settings, or code added to the theme.

How to confirm and fix

Open the page in a browser, view its source and search for noindex. If it is there, remove it at its origin, using the list above. If it is not in the source, the instruction may be in the server’s response, which URL Inspection reports under the page’s indexing details.

Once the instruction is gone, use URL Inspection to request indexing. The other statuses in the same report are explained in why your website is not showing up on Google.

Questions people ask

Is 'Excluded by noindex tag' an error?

Only if the page should be in search. Google's own note on the status is that if you did not want the page indexed, the tag is doing what you asked.

How do I remove a noindex tag in WordPress?

Check two places: Settings, then Reading, where the box to discourage search engines must be unticked, and the SEO plugin, which has its own switch for the page and for each type of content.

How long after removing noindex will the page be indexed?

Google has to fetch the page again to see the change. Requesting indexing through URL Inspection brings that forward, and the page is then indexed on Google's usual schedule, from days to a few weeks.

Free competitor gap report

A page hidden by mistake is a ranking given away. Name up to three competitors and we check which of your pages and theirs search engines are allowed to index, then send you what you are hiding that they are not.

  1. Speed and technical health, side by side
  2. On-page SEO and site structure
  3. The content they are found for and you are not
  4. Who holds the searches that matter in your market
  5. A prioritised list of what to fix first
Request your free report by email
Address
contact@hadalmedusa.com
Include
your site; up to three competitors; where you compete

More in this series