Google crawls a website to analyze its content. They then keep this information in an index used for search results. Thus, having a page indexed is significant if someone wants their website to be seen. While Google has discussed its deindexing process, they have not always been transparent about the causes or fixes for these issues. Google will deindex pages that don’t meet quality guidelines or websites that they legally must deindex. Fortunately, most people can get to the bottom of why their website has been deindexed by following a few simple steps. These steps can take a lot of time if you have significant changes to make, and there’s no exact method guaranteed to get results, but by committing to the process, you can make dramatic improvements.
Why is Google Deindexing Website Pages
Google will deindex websites for various reasons. The company does this to ensure they have the best quality search results possible and to prevent suggesting harmful websites with malware or low-quality content. Yet, the deindexing process can be detrimental when companies need their website to be shown and cannot figure out why their website is not appearing on search results
There are two prominent reasons why Google deindexes websites. The first reason is that manual action has been taken on your website, and the second is that a mistake in the code can cause a website to be deindexed. The former reason is the more likely cause, and it can occur for a variety of quality-control reasons; you can check your Search Console to see if Google has given you an explanation for why your website has been deindexed, which can help you make changes more efficiently.
How to Solve Website Deindexing Issue
Google wants to promote quality pages, so when a page has been deindexed, it could be because of quality issues. Thus, determining the exact nature of the issue helps you address it. Once you have pinpointed the issue, you can use strategic solutions to ensure your page is indexed. For all manual actions, you will have to file a reconsideration request after making the necessary changes to your website.
Structured Data Problems
Certain parameters must be followed when you are using structured data, so if these guidelines are not followed, you will not be indexed. When you have this problem, Search Console can generally give you an idea of where the issue could be, or you can use other programs meant to analyze structured data.
Spam on Forums
When your website has too much user-generated content, it may lead to your website being deindexed. Spammy comments on blogs or spam with malware can all be hazardous to your search engine health. You can address this issue by getting rid of any user-created spam.
Keyword Stuffing
More keywords do not necessarily give you better search results. Google has become more sensitive to keyword stuffing to prevent this practice. Keywords should always be used as naturally as possible to ensure your website is indexed.
Content Issues
A variety of content issues can cause you problems. For example, Google will take your content off their search results if you have duplicate content. Thus, you need to ensure that your content is unique. You also want to avoid auto-generated pages that commonly have errors, swap out keywords, and don’t add any quality to the content.
You want to make the quality of your content as high as possible, which means that your content should be focused, spellchecked, original, and relevant. Rewriting and curating the content on your website can help you fix any content issues you may have. Obtaining top-notch copy can require significant time and energy, but it is well worth the effort.
Watch for Link Issues
Some people like to get as many backlinks as possible, and they accomplish this by using shading link-building behaviors that Google disapproves of. You do not want your links to be unnatural. You want to ensure that your links are visible (don’t hide them behind an image or make them the same color as your background, for instance), high quality, and used sparingly. If links are too frequent, Google will think you are buying your links. If links are your issue, the solution is to audit your backlinks. Analyze which links could be unnatural and get rid of any problematic links.
Affiliate Programs
If you are using a low-quality affiliate program on your website, your content may not appear on web searches. Make sure that you are working with high-quality affiliate programs to ensure you get your website indexed.
Cloaking
Cloaking is when you have multiple sets of URLs or content, and it is another problem some websites have. Cloaking issues are not always because you did something wrong. Rather, they can be related to other forces. For example, hackers often use cloaking as a tool, and if this is the problem, eliminating malware and finding vulnerable areas is the solution. Additionally, subscription websites may run into this problem because the paywall appears to be cloaking. If this is the case, Google will give you steps to remedy this issue.
You Deindexed Your Own Website
Sometimes, you may accidentally add the noindex directive, which causes Google to deindex your website. To uncover these issues, you can look at the <head> tag of your pages. If you have a WordPress website, you will also want to make sure that you have not selected the option to discourage search engines from indexing your website.
Why You Should Invest in Professional SEO Services
Having an SEO company in Columbus, Ohio, can help you ensure that your website pages do as much as possible to benefit your company. SEO experts understand the indexing process and how to create content and improve existing content that reflects Google’s standards. A good SEO agency will have the experience and training to ensure your website appears on Google’s index. Indexing is an integral part of the SEO process because, without indexing, other SEO techniques cannot work.
Split Reef is a modern, results-driven digital organization always ready to support clients in their search for digital supremacy. With Split Reef, your budget isn’t going to hold you back from partnering with us to make your project successful. Our offices are located in Columbus, Ohio and Jacksonville, Florida.
