A noindex tag tells search engines not to show a page in their results. You add it as a meta tag in the page's head or as an HTTP response header. The crawler must be able to fetch the page to see it, so never block a noindexed page in robots.txt.
What does a noindex tag do?
Search engines work in two steps: they crawl a page, then decide whether to index it, which means storing it so it can appear in results. A noindex rule acts on the second step. The page can be crawled, but you are asking that it be kept out of the results. If you want the background on those two steps, read what crawling and indexing are.
Noindex is a request about visibility, not a lock. It does not hide the page from people who have the URL, and it does not protect private content. Anything that must stay private needs a login, not a meta tag.
How do you add a noindex tag?
Google's documentation on blocking indexing describes two ways. Both do the same job.
Option 1: a meta tag in the page head
Put this in the <head> of the page:
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">
The name robots addresses every search engine that supports the rule. To target only Google, use googlebot as the name instead.
Option 2: an X-Robots-Tag header
Your server sends X-Robots-Tag: noindex in the HTTP response. This is the only option for files that have no HTML head, such as PDFs, images and videos, and it is handy when you cannot edit a page template but can change server settings.
Why does robots.txt break noindex?
This is the most common mistake. Google states that it has to crawl the page to see the noindex rule. If robots.txt blocks the URL, the crawler never reads the tag, and the page can still appear in results when other pages link to it. Google also does not support noindex rules written inside robots.txt.
The fix is the opposite of what feels natural: let the page be crawled, and put noindex on the page itself. Once the page has dropped out of the index, you can decide whether to block it. For the full comparison, see robots.txt vs noindex.
Which pages should get a noindex tag?
Use it on pages that should work for visitors but have no reason to rank. Typical candidates:
- Thank-you and confirmation pages. They only make sense after an action.
- Internal search results. Endless combinations of queries create thin, near-duplicate pages.
- Login, cart and account pages. They have no search value.
- Staging copies and test pages. If they are public, keep them out of results.
- Thin tag or archive pages. Pages that add nothing beyond a list of links to other pages.
Do not use noindex to fix duplicate content between two real pages. A canonical tag or a redirect is the right tool there. See canonical URLs and 301 vs 302 redirects.
How do you check that noindex works?
- View the source. Open the live page, view the source, and search for
noindex. For a header, use your browser's network panel or a header checker. - Check that robots.txt allows the URL. If it does not, the rule is invisible to Google.
- Inspect the URL in Search Console. The URL Inspection tool shows whether Google sees a noindex rule on its last crawl. Our guide to checking if a page is indexed walks through it.
- Wait for a recrawl. Google says it must recrawl the page to see the rule, and for less important pages "it may take months for Googlebot to revisit a page." You can request a recrawl with URL Inspection.
What are the common noindex mistakes?
- Leaving noindex on after launch. Many sites ship a staging setting that adds noindex to every page, then forget to remove it. If a whole section vanishes from results, check this first.
- Noindexing a page and also linking it everywhere. The page will not rank, so the links pass little value to it. Decide whether the page is meant to exist for search at all.
- Using noindex on a page you also redirect. A redirected URL never shows its own tags to a visitor, so the rule does nothing useful.
- Expecting instant results. Removal waits on a recrawl. If a page must come out fast, use the removal tools described in Google's documentation as well.
- Mixing up noindex with "crawled, currently not indexed." That status means Google chose not to index a page; noindex means you chose. If you see it unexpectedly, read crawled, currently not indexed.
Does noindex affect AI answers?
Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet to be used in its AI features. A noindexed page fails that test, so noindex also keeps it out of AI Overviews. Other AI products use their own crawlers and rules, which you control in robots.txt, covered in allowing ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a noindex tag the same as nofollow?
No. Noindex asks search engines to leave the page out of results. Nofollow is a separate instruction about the links on a page or a single link. You can use either alone or together.
Can I use noindex in robots.txt?
Not with Google, which does not support noindex rules in robots.txt. Put the rule on the page as a meta tag, or send it as an X-Robots-Tag header.
How long does it take for a noindexed page to disappear?
Until Google recrawls the page. For popular pages that can be quick, for minor pages it can take months. Requesting a recrawl in Search Console can shorten the wait.
Will noindex hurt the rest of my site?
Not by itself. Noindexing pages with no search value is normal housekeeping. The risk is noindexing a page you wanted to rank, so audit the list before you publish the change.
How do I noindex a PDF?
Send an X-Robots-Tag: noindex header for that file. A PDF has no HTML head, so a meta tag is not an option.