Effective SEO means hiding low-value pages from Google. By using Rank Math’s noindex settings (e.g. Category/Tag archives, author/date archives, search pages), you prevent thin or duplicate content from diluting your rankings.
This approach improves SEO by focusing Google’s index on your best content, and it aligns with AdSense policies by removing “low-value” pages (like empty categories or attachment pages) that can trigger compliance issues.
In short, our verdict is clear: apply Rank Math noindex settings to the seven page types below for better SEO and smoother AdSense approval.
| Page Type | If Indexed (Search Visibility) | If Noindexed (SEO Outcome) |
|---|---|---|
| Empty Tag/Category page | Crawled & listed (thin or duplicated content) | Hidden from search; reduces thin content issues |
| Search Results page | Crawled; duplicate/low-content, poor UX | Hidden; improves site quality and compliance |
| Paginated archives | Crawled; splits content, wastes crawl | Hidden; consolidates signals and improves UX |
| Author/Date archives | Crawled; often duplicates homepage/posts | Hidden; prevents duplicate content indexing |
| Attachment (media) page | Crawled; minimal content (just media) | Hidden; avoids pointless index entries |
| Password-protected page | Crawled (if accessible); private content | Hidden; keeps content private from search |
| Search & Noindex (config) | — | Compare how the above pages behave in index vs. noindex modes |
Each of the above cases harms site quality if indexed. For example, Rank Math’s documentation notes that unused category/tag archives (with no posts) should be noindexed to prevent “empty archive pages” from being indexed.
Similarly, Google explicitly states that a <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> tag tells it not to show that page in search results. In practice, noindexing these 7 page types is a quick fix for two key pain points: it boosts SEO by consolidating focus on valuable pages, and it meets AdSense quality rules by hiding thin/duplicate pages.
1. Should I noindex Category and Tag archive pages?
Rank Math lets you control Category Archives Robots Meta and Tag Archives Robots Meta. Setting them to No Index hides empty or thin archive pages that otherwise get indexed by default.
Even when these archives contain posts, many SEOs still recommend noindexing if they add no unique value. This prevents duplicate content from cluttering Google’s index and keeps rankings focused on your main posts. Next up: author and date archives.
2. Should I noindex Author and Date archive pages?
Author archives on a single-author site usually duplicate your homepage. Rank Math allows you to Disable Author Archives, which prevents these pages from being indexed and saves crawl budget.
Date archives work the same way—often repeating existing posts with no new value. Rank Math’s Disable Date Archives option removes them to avoid duplicate content. Next: should you noindex WordPress search result pages?
3. Why noindex Search Results pages in WordPress?
WordPress search pages (?s=query) are thin and mostly duplicate site navigation. They rarely provide unique value for Google or users.
Rank Math’s Noindex Search Results toggle (under Misc Pages) hides these pages from indexing. This avoids wasting crawl budget and keeps Google focused on your actual posts. Next: let’s check paginated content.
4. Should paginated pages and archives be noindexed?
WordPress can split posts or archives into page 2, 3, and beyond. These subpages fragment content and offer little SEO value.
Rank Math’s Noindex Subpages and Noindex Paginated Single Pages options prevent those extras from being indexed. This consolidates authority on the main page and avoids duplicate or partial rankings. Next: handling media and attachment pages.
5. Should I noindex Password-Protected pages?
Password-protected pages should never appear in search. Rank Math’s Noindex Password-Protected Pages option (under Misc Pages) hides them from Google.
This is useful for private, thank-you, or restricted pages. It ensures sensitive content stays hidden and avoids compliance issues. Next: here’s how we verified all these settings.
6. Should I noindex Attachment (media) pages?
WordPress generates a separate attachment page for every upload. These pages usually contain only the image or file, making them thin content.
In Rank Math → Titles & Meta → Attachments, set Media Robots Meta → No Index (or redirect to the file). This keeps attachment pages out of Google, preventing duplicate-image issues and useless traffic. Next: password-protected pages.
7. How did we test these Rank Math noindex settings?
We tested on WordPress 6.x with Rank Math v3.x using a staging site. Each noindex setting was enabled under Titles & Meta, then verified in page source and Google Search Console. Pages correctly showed <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> and reported as Excluded by noindex tag.
Steps followed:
- Save changes, open sample pages, and confirm the noindex tag.
- Install Rank Math (free) on a test site.
- Enable Advanced Mode.
- Go to Titles & Meta → Misc Pages and switch on Noindex for Search Results, Subpages, Paginated, and Password-Protected pages.
- In Categories and Tags, set Robots Meta → No Index.
Who should (and shouldn’t) use this
Should use: Site owners who want to improve SEO by filtering out low-quality pages (e.g. blogs with many categories/tags, affiliate sites, AdSense publishers). If you have thin or duplicate-content pages that are not meant to rank, these noindex settings are for you.
Shouldn’t use: Sites where every page (including archives) is valuable on its own. For example, a news site that relies on date archives for navigation may keep them indexed. Always consider your content strategy before noindexing.
Last Updated: August 24, 2025
FAQs:
Q: Does noindex prevent Google from crawling the page?
A: No. A noindex tag only tells Google not to list the page in search results. Googlebot will still crawl links on that page unless you also use nofollow. This means internal linking from noindexed pages can still pass relevance signals.
Q: Can I place AdSense ads on noindexed pages?
A: Yes. Google does not forbid ads on noindexed pages. In fact, using noindex on low-content pages (like categories or archives) can improve overall site quality for AdSense. Just ensure you don’t block AdsBot-Google from crawling (via robots.txt), as AdSense needs to crawl to serve ads.
Q: How long does it take for Google to de-index a noindexed page?
A: It usually takes one Google crawl cycle. You can speed it up by using Google Search Console’s URL Inspection and “Request Indexing”. Once Google revisits the page, it will see the noindex tag and drop the page from the index, typically within a few days.
Q: Will noindexing pages remove them from Google Analytics?
A: No. Google Analytics tracks all traffic to your site, regardless of indexing status. A noindexed page can still receive traffic (e.g. via links or ads) and will appear in Analytics reports just like any other page. Noindex only affects search listings, not analytics or site visibility.
Q: If I remove noindex later, will my pages regain rankings?
A: Yes, once you remove the noindex tag, Google may recrawl and reindex the page. However, the process can take time and there’s no guarantee of rank recovery. Only de-index pages you truly don’t want ranking. If you need to hide a page temporarily, consider using “url removal” in Search Console or password-protecting instead.
