SEO Tips: Understanding Noindex for Sitelinks

As an SEO agency, we constantly come across various challenges and questions related to search engine optimization. One such intriguing topic is the use of `noindex` for sitelinks. Let's dive deep into this subject and understand its implications.

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The Sitelinks Dilemma

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Search Engine Indexing

Sitelinks are those clustered links you see in the search results from a single domain. They usually appear when someone searches for the name or URL of a website. But what if a less-than-ideal page appears in these sitelinks?

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The Real Estate Website Case

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Imagine a real estate website where the sitelinks include a link to one of the real estate agent's pages. Ideally, more important pages like "About Us" should appear in the sitelinks. So, the question arises: Should we use `noindex` to remove that agent's page from the sitelinks?

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Google's Take on Noindex for Sitelinks

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John Mueller from Google addressed this question on Reddit. He mentioned that if you temporarily set a page to `noindex`, it might be dropped during that period but would likely return to its original state once the `noindex` is removed. Google doesn't interpret a temporary `noindex` as a mild dislike for the page. It's a binary choice: the page is either indexable or not.

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The Essence of Noindex

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A `noindex` meta tag is a directive. This means search engines are bound to obey this request. If a page has a meta `noindex` tag, search engines are required to drop that page from their index. Interestingly, using `noindex` to remove a page from sitelinks is Google's recommended action.

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Indexing vs. Ranking

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It's essential to understand that indexing and ranking are two separate processes in search engines. The indexing engine, like Googlebot, crawls the web and gathers website content for potential inclusion in the search engine's index. On the other hand, the ranking engine determines the order in which these indexed pages appear in search results.

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Why Might Google Show Less Desirable Pages in Sitelinks?

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There could be various reasons. Perhaps users frequently search for that specific page. Google provides several recommendations to ensure only the most relevant pages appear in sitelinks, such as:

- Using informative, relevant, and concise page titles and headings.

- Creating a logical site structure.

- Ensuring concise and relevant internal link anchor texts.

- Avoiding content repetitions.

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In Conclusion

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As an SEO expert, it's crucial to understand the nuances of tools like `noindex` and their impact on search results. While it's a powerful tool, it's essential to use it judiciously to ensure the best user experience and search engine performance.

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