Google URL removal now has fewer requirements
Getting a URL removed from Google’s index has always been a massive upheaval, applying for the link removal was complicated, then even after waiting a…
Getting a URL removed from Google’s index has always been a massive upheaval, applying for the link removal was complicated, then even after waiting a while there’s a chance that it’ll get denied because it didn’t meet one of their strict guidelines. You need to have your website verified in webmaster central, to remove the URL and/or block it with the necessary status code or line in your txt file.
Flawed reasoning
Google’s reasoning is secure, but incredibly flawed… You’ve already verified that you own the domain or are a webmaster by having the site in webmaster central; there’s no reason why you should need further verification and a time period before getting the URL removed.
Instant removal is only temporary
Despite now offering instant removal of a URL, the removal is only for a period of 90 days unless you meet further requirements which include the following:
- Blocking the URL via a 404 or 410 HTTP status code.
- A txt line.
- A noindex in your meta robots tag.
One of the above should be essential anyway, but if it’s fairly low on the priority list it means there’s a 3 month period of time where the task can be performed rather than the need to do it quickly before applying for the link to be removed from Google’s index.
How to remove a link from Google
Removing a link is easy, just click on the website you want to remove a URL from, then go to crawler access where you’ll see a tab called “Remove URL“. When you click on this, just hit “New removal request“, enter the URL you’d like to remove and press “Continue“.
On the following page, you’ll have to give a reason why you want to remove the page and you’ll get further instructions for permanent removal too.
Remember, this means Google Webmaster Tools has become even more powerful, so you need to be very careful who you verify as an owner of the domain; with this improvement it’s now a lot easier for a malicious party to remove a large number, if not every single, page of a website.
Written by Jason John Mills