Delete pages from Google

5. September 2013

Introduction

There are several reasons why you want to remove a page from the Google Index. It is important to distinguish between pages that you control yourself and those that are operated by external people. This guide shows you how to remove pages from the Google Index – both for your own websites and for third-party content.

1. Remove your own page from the Google Index

If you want to remove a page of your own website from the Google Index, there are several methods:

Scenario 1: The page should continue to be online but not appear in Google search

Adding the URL to robots.txt-File
Using the Meta Robots tag with “noindex”
Limitation of access by a login

If your website is based on a CMS like WordPress or Typo3, you can simply activate noindex. Alternatively, you can use the robots.txt– File blocked.

Scenario 2: The content should be completely removed

If the page is no longer available, you can:

Delete the page
Set up a permanent 301 forwarding to another page
Return HTTP status code 410 (Gone) or 404 (Not Found)

To accelerate, you can apply for a removal in the Google Search Console Tools.

2. Remove external content from the Google index

If content appears on an external domain that you do not have access to, the removal is more difficult. In this case it is recommended:

Contact the website operator (check the imprint or contact page)
To submit a DMCA complaint via Google if it is a copyright infringement
Check the Google Guidelines for the Removal of External Content

Further information on the removal of content can be found on the Google Webmaster Support Page.