What is de-indexing?
De-indexing is an SEO process of pulling off a website, or a webpage, or some content of the page from the search engine’s index and therefore it does not show up in the SERPs of any search portals like Google and Bing.
How do you know if a website is de-indexed?
To identify whether your website or certain pages are de-indexed by Google is by checking manually on Google search. The other best way to keep track of the errors on your domain is by using online tools like the Google search console where you get useful information such as server errors, number of indexed pages, backlinks to your site, and affected URLs, etc.
How will de-indexing affect the website ranking?
If the pages where most of your content is posted are deindexed, it will hurt your site’s overall quality and rankings. Users can find your website online through search engines and so if your website does not show up in search results then this will have a severe impact on your SEO rankings. However, if low-quality pages are de-indexed then it might help too.
Why does Google de-index certain pages and How to recover from it?
Google may permanently or temporarily exclude some websites or certain pages from its index and search results if the sites do not meet Google’s webmaster guidelines. Below are some of the main reasons why Google might have de-indexed your WordPress website from search engine result pages.
- Keyword stuffing
- Duplicate content
- Page cloaking
- Unnatural backlinks or improper link building practices.
- Poor quality content
- Server issues
To recover from de-indexing issues your first reflex should be to check the cause of the errors. Once you have identified the reasons, make sure you take the necessary steps to rectify them. Here are some of the recovery steps to be implemented.
- Perform an audit to identify the list of natural and unnatural or spammy links. Once identified, disavow the unnatural links. The best strategy for building natural links organically is to provide quality and unique content.
- Uncover low-quality, thin and duplicate content pages by using an SEO crawler. Check your spelling and grammar, improve the quality of the content and make sure you keep consistency.
- Check with your web host server for any crashes recently. If any, determine the bottleneck that is impacting and stabilize them. Also, include a website monitoring service to get alerts about server crashes.
- Check for any new algorithm updates or guidelines and modify your website accordingly.
- Never buy links or use linking software to generate artificial links.
- Identify spammy links redirected to your site and clean up the malware.
- Use link checker tools or Google webmaster tools to identify broken links and make sure you fix them.
- Avoid keyword stuffing by using keyword research tools to generate a list of relevant keywords and focus on keyword optimization.
Finally, make sure you follow the guidelines while crafting your site and submit a sitemap or reconsideration request to Google along with steps that were taken to resolve the issues to get your website re-indexed.
TAKE AWAY
Search engines like Google’s bots crawl through every WordPress page or post that is available on the web and is indexed. Therefore, if your site or certain pages of your site are de-indexed then there seem to be several reasons to be considered. Check the above-mentioned factors and review your entire site SEO.
If you are concerned about your website’s SEO or rankings, check out our SEO Strategy and Services. Our leading digital marketing agency is a one-stop solution for your multiple problems. Contact us today to get a quote on our SEO Services.
Durga
About The Author…
Durga has a master’s degree in engineering. Technological advances in digital space interest her a lot. Digital marketing is her forte and she passionately follows latest trends in the digital marketing space. She has written many trending articles on various social media platforms. Her areas of interest include SEO Optimization, structured data, SMM, Keywords research and analysis etc. She is focused, resourceful and dedicated.