Short answer: Noindex is a rule, in a robots meta tag or an X-Robots-Tag HTTP header, that keeps a page out of Google’s results. When Googlebot crawls the page and finds it, Google drops the page from Search, even if other sites link to it. Google has to crawl the page to see the rule, so don’t block it in robots.txt.
The ways to add noindex
| Where | What it looks like | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Robots meta tag | <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> | Keeps the page out of search engines that support the rule |
| Googlebot meta tag | <meta name="googlebot" content="noindex"> | Keeps the page out of Google only |
| HTTP header | X-Robots-Tag: noindex | Works for PDFs, images and videos too |
| Combined rules | <meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow"> | Adds a nofollow hint to the noindex rule |
| robots.txt | noindex | Not supported by Google |
The meta tag and the header have the same effect, so pick the one that fits the type of file. If you use Wix, WordPress or Blogger, your CMS may offer a search engine setting that adds the tag for you.
From Google Search Central, “Block Search indexing with noindex”, read November 3, 2026.
When to use noindex
Use it on pages that should work for visitors but have no place in Google’s results, such as internal search results, thank-you pages or a login page. Google adds that noindex is useful when you don’t have root access to your server, because it works page by page.
Don’t use it to choose between two versions of the same page. For that, Google prefers a canonical tag and advises against noindex, because noindex blocks the page from Search completely.
Why noindex and robots.txt don’t mix
For noindex to work, robots.txt can’t block the page and the crawler has to be able to reach it. If robots.txt blocks the page, Google never sees the rule, and the page can still appear in results when other pages link to it.
Google doesn’t support a noindex rule inside robots.txt either. Our robots.txt guide explains what that file can and can’t do.
How to keep a page out of Google
- List the pages you want out of the results, such as search results or thank-you pages.
- Check that robots.txt doesn’t block them, so Googlebot can read the rule.
- Add the robots meta tag with noindex to the head of each page, or use your CMS’s search engine setting.
- For PDFs, images or videos, send an X-Robots-Tag: noindex header instead.
- Open each page and confirm that the tag or the header is there.
- Use the URL Inspection tool to see the HTML Googlebot received, and request a recrawl.
- Watch the Page Indexing report in Search Console for the pages where Google found the rule.
What our own site sends
At 12:46 AM on November 3 we read our own pages as a visitor. Our search results pages, in English and in Spanish, answer 200 with a robots meta tag that says follow, noindex. Our sitemap files send an X-Robots-Tag: noindex header instead, because they’re XML files, not web pages.
The home page, the guides index and each guide say index, follow. Our robots.txt blocks only /wp-admin/, so Google can reach the search pages and read their noindex.
Before you rely on noindex
- Robots.txt doesn’t block the page.
- The rule sits in a meta tag in the head or in an X-Robots-Tag header.
- No noindex rule is in robots.txt.
- The pages you want on Google don’t carry noindex.
- URL Inspection shows the rule in the HTML Googlebot received.
- A page that has to go fast also has a removal request.
RememberNoindex only works when Google can crawl the page: put it in a meta tag or an HTTP header, never in robots.txt, and leave the page unblocked.
If you want us to check which of your pages Google can index, see our technical SEO service.
Quick answers about noindex
Is noindex the same as blocking a page in robots.txt?
No. Robots.txt stops Google from crawling a page, and noindex keeps it out of the results. A page blocked in robots.txt can still appear if other pages link to it, and Google never sees its noindex rule.
How long does noindex take to work?
Google has to crawl the page again to see the rule, and depending on how important the page is, that can take months. You can request a recrawl with the URL Inspection tool, and use Google’s removals tool when a page has to go quickly.
Can I put noindex in robots.txt?
No. Google doesn’t support a noindex rule in robots.txt. Use a robots meta tag in the head of the page, or an X-Robots-Tag header in the server’s response.
Does noindex keep a page out of every search engine?
Only out of the search engines that support the rule, such as Google. Google warns that some engines might read noindex differently, so a page could still appear in their results.
Should I add nofollow next to noindex?
Only if you also want to ask search engines not to follow the links on that page. Google lets you combine both rules in one tag, such as noindex, nofollow. Our own search results pages use follow, noindex.
Sources
Read on November 3, 2026. Google Search Central: Block Search indexing with noindex and How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methods. Our own case: the status, headers and robots meta tags of our pages and our robots.txt, on November 3, 2026.