undefined
Skip to content
Moz logo Menu open Menu close
  • Products
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Pro Home
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Home
    • STAT
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Home
    • Compare SEO Products
    • Moz Data
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis
    • Keyword Explorer
    • Link Explorer
    • Competitive Research
    • MozBar
    • More Free SEO Tools
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
    • SEO Learning Center
    • Moz Academy
    • SEO Q&A
    • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Agency Solutions
    • Enterprise Solutions
    • Small Business Solutions
    • Case Studies
    • The Moz Story
    • New Releases
  • Log in
  • Log out
  • Products
    • Moz Pro

      Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

    • Moz Local

      Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

    • STAT

      SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

    • Moz API

      Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

    • Compare SEO Products

      See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

    • Moz Data

      Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis

      Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

    • Keyword Explorer

      Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

    • Link Explorer

      Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

    • Competitive Research

      Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

    • MozBar

      See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

    • More Free SEO Tools

      Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO

      The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

    • SEO Learning Center

      Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

    • On-Demand Webinars

      Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

    • How-To Guides

      Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

    • Moz Academy

      Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

    • MozCon

      Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
    Moz API

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

    Find your plan
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Small Business Solutions

      Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

    • Agency Solutions

      Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

    • Enterprise Solutions

      Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

    • The Moz Story

      Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

    • Case Studies

      Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

    • New Releases

      Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

    Surface actionable competitive intel
    New Feature

    Surface actionable competitive intel

    Learn More
  • Log in
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Dashboard
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Dashboard
    • Moz Academy
  • Avatar
    • Moz Home
    • Notifications
    • Account & Billing
    • Manage Users
    • Community Profile
    • My Q&A
    • My Videos
    • Log Out

The Moz Q&A Forum

  • Forum
  • Questions
  • Users
  • Ask the Community

Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

  1. Home
  2. SEO Tactics
  3. Intermediate & Advanced SEO
  4. Staging website got indexed by google

Moz Q&A is closed.

After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

Staging website got indexed by google

Intermediate & Advanced SEO
indexing crawling noindex
9
10
2.2k
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as question
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
  • Asmi-Ta
    Asmi-Ta Subscriber last edited by Sep 12, 2023, 5:50 AM

    Our staging website got indexed by google and now MOZ is showing all inbound links from staging site, how should i remove those links and make it no index.

    Note- we already added Meta NOINDEX in head tag

    hazelalia 1 Reply Last reply Sep 13, 2023, 10:06 AM Reply Quote 0
    • rajubhai88789
      rajubhai88789 last edited by Oct 3, 2023, 4:14 PM

      Hi Dera Moz My Domain Is 18 Years Old But Da is don't increased i don't know why can you please help me and check my url cigars please check sir

      #mozda

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Suvidit-Academy
        Suvidit-Academy last edited by Sep 20, 2023, 6:11 AM

        Its good that you already put the Meta NOINDEX.

        Now, you can ask to remove the url of website from google index. Visit the google search console and request the url removal.

        89a4084b-0ac0-4db9-b553-d15a29ddf6f8-image.png

        You can use the URL Removal Tool in Google Search Console to request the removal of specific URLs from Google's index.

        To use the URL Removal Tool, you can:

        • Open the Removals tool.
        • Select the Temporary Removals tab.
        • Click New Request.
        • Select Next to complete the process.

        Warm Regards
        Rahul Gupta
        Suvidit Academy

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Farooqraza
          Farooqraza last edited by Sep 18, 2023, 8:41 AM

          Sydney's Best Chauffeur Car Service | A1 Corporate Cars Au

          Sydney's Best Chauffeur Car Service is a premier provider of corporate chauffeured cars in Sydney, Australia. We offer top-of [url=https://a1corporatecars.com.au/]corporate cars Australia[/url] transportation solutions for business professionals, executives, and VIP clients who demand the highest service and comfort. With a fleet of luxury vehicles and experienced professional chauffeurs, we ensure a seamless and luxurious travel experience for our esteemed customers.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • hazelalia
            hazelalia last edited by Sep 15, 2023, 10:41 AM

            If your staging website has been indexed by Google, it means that Google's web crawlers have discovered and added your staging site's pages to their search index. This is typically not desirable because staging websites are meant for testing and development purposes and often contain incomplete or confidential content.

            To address this issue, you can take several steps. Firstly, ensure that your staging website has a "robots.txt" file configured properly. This file tells search engines which parts of your website to crawl and index. In the case of a staging site, you can disallow all web crawlers from indexing it by using a "robots.txt" file.

            Another effective measure is to include a "noindex" meta tag in the HTML of your staging website's pages. This tag instructs search engines not to index the page, adding an extra layer of protection.

            Consider password-protecting your staging website using HTTP authentication. This adds an additional layer of security and ensures that only authorized users can access the site.

            To further mitigate indexing issues, you can set up your staging website on a subdomain or a subdirectory instead of a separate domain. Google is less likely to index staging content if it's located in a subdomain or subdirectory.

            If your staging site is already indexed, you can request the removal of specific URLs from Google's index using the Google Search Console's URL Removal Tool. This is a more proactive approach to remove already indexed content.

            Lastly, regularly monitor your staging website to ensure it remains hidden from search engines and that any changes to the robots.txt file or meta tags are being followed. It's a good practice to implement these measures before you create or launch a staging website to prevent it from being indexed in the first place.

            Remember that it may take some time for Google to update its index and remove your staging site's pages. Be patient and continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the desired results are achieved.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • zarajan
              zarajan last edited by Sep 15, 2023, 7:39 AM

              If a staging website (a non-production or testing version) gets indexed by Google, it can lead to privacy, user experience, and SEO issues. To address this, use methods like robots.txt, "noindex" meta tags, or password protection to prevent indexing. If already indexed, request removal through Google Search Console to ensure only the production site is visible in search results.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Moodesburn1991
                Moodesburn1991 last edited by Sep 14, 2023, 3:28 PM

                If your staging website has been indexed by Google, it means that Google's search engine has discovered and included your staging site in its search results. This is not an ideal situation since staging websites are usually intended for testing and development purposes, and you may not want them publicly accessible.

                To address this issue, you can take a few steps:

                Use a robots.txt file: Create a robots.txt file on your staging website and instruct search engines not to index it. This file specifies which areas of your site search engines should or should not crawl.

                Add a noindex meta tag: Insert a "noindex" meta tag in the head section of your staging website's HTML. This tag tells search engines not to index that specific page.

                Password protect your staging website: Implement password protection on your staging environment to ensure that only authorized users can access it. This can be done through various authentication methods, depending on your setup.

                Remember that these steps can help prevent further indexing, but they may not immediately remove your staging site from the search results. It might take some time for search engines to re-crawl your site and recognize the changes you made.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • talentwide
                  talentwide last edited by Sep 14, 2023, 9:03 AM

                  If your staging website gets indexed by Google, you should take these steps:
                  ( Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program application form)
                  Use a robots.txt file to disallow indexing.
                  Request removal of indexed pages via Google Search Console.
                  Canada PR
                  Add a "noindex, nofollow" meta tag to staging pages.
                  Consider password protecting the staging site.
                  Ensure canonical URLs point to the production site.
                  These actions will help prevent your incomplete or sensitive staging content from appearing in Google search results.
                  Best digital marketing agency

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • skchad13j
                    skchad13j last edited by Sep 14, 2023, 6:44 AM

                    If your staging website has been indexed by Google, it means that Google's search engine has crawled and added your staging site's pages to its search index. This is typically not desired because staging websites are not meant for public access and may contain incomplete or sensitive content.

                    To address this issue, you should take the following steps:

                    Disallow indexing: Use a robots.txt file to instruct search engines not to crawl and index your staging website. You can add the following lines to your robots.txt file to disallow all search engines:

                    makefile
                    Copy code
                    User-agent: *
                    Disallow: /
                    Place this robots.txt file in the root directory of your staging website.

                    Remove indexed pages: You can request Google to remove indexed pages from its search results by using the Google Search Console's "Remove URLs" tool. Log in to your Google Search Console account, select your property, go to the "Index" section, and choose "Removals." From there, you can temporarily hide specific URLs from Google search results.

                    Use noindex meta tags: On your staging website's pages, you can add a meta tag to indicate that the page should not be indexed. Add the following meta tag within the HTML <head> section of each page you want to exclude:

                    html
                    Copy code
                    <meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">
                    This tag tells search engines not to index the page or follow any links on it.

                    Password protection: Consider adding password protection to your staging website, so only authorized users can access it. This adds an additional layer of security and privacy.

                    Update canonical URLs: Ensure that your staging website's canonical URLs (if used) point to the production website, not the staging one. This helps search engines understand the preferred version of your content.

                    After taking these steps, monitor your staging website to ensure it's no longer being indexed by Google. Keep in mind that it may take some time for changes to take effect and for Google to de-index your staging content.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • hazelalia
                      hazelalia @Asmi-Ta last edited by Sep 13, 2023, 10:06 AM

                      @Asmi-Ta said in Staging website got indexed by google:

                      Our staging website got indexed by google and now MOZ is showing all inbound links from staging site, how should i remove those links and make it no index.
                      Note- we already added Meta NOINDEX in head tag

                      To remove indexed staging site links and prevent further indexing, take these steps: Add a "Disallow" rule for the staging site in your robots.txt file, use 301 redirects for indexed staging URLs to point to production, update all internal links to production URLs, request URL removals through Google Search Console's "Fetch as Google" and URL Removal Tool, submit an updated production sitemap, and monitor Google Search Console for updates. Be patient, as it may take time for search engines to de-index staging URLs and re-crawl your site. Ensure the staging site has a "noindex" tag in its <head> section.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • 1 / 1
                      1 out of 10
                      • First post
                        1/10
                        Last post

                      Got a burning SEO question?

                      Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                      Start my free trial


                      Browse Questions

                      Explore more categories

                      • Moz Tools

                        Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                      • SEO Tactics

                        Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                      • Community

                        Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                      • Digital Marketing

                        Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                      • Research & Trends

                        Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                      • Support

                        Connect on product support and feature requests.

                      • See all categories

                      Related Questions

                      • Viktoriia1805

                        The particular page cannot be indexed by Google

                        indexing googlesearchconsole onpage

                        Hello, Smart People!
                        We need help solving the problem with Google indexing.
                        All pages of our website are crawled and indexed. All pages, including those mentioned, meet Google requirements and can be indexed. However, only this page is still not indexed.
                        Robots.txt is not blocking it.
                        We do not have a tag "nofollow"
                        We have it in the sitemap file.
                        We have internal links for this page from indexed pages.
                        We requested indexing many times, and it is still grey.
                        The page was established one year ago.
                        We are open to any suggestions or guidance you may have. What else can we do to expedite the indexing process?

                        On-Page Optimization | Aug 28, 2024, 11:19 AM | Viktoriia1805
                        1
                      • AtuliSulava

                        Page Indexing without content

                        indexing seo

                        Hello. I have a problem of page indexing without content. I have website in 3 different languages and 2 of the pages are indexing just fine, but one language page (the most important one) is indexing without content. When searching using site: page comes up, but when searching unique keywords for which I should rank 100% nothing comes up. This page was indexing just fine and the problem arose couple of days ago after google update finished. Looking further, the problem is language related and every page in the given language that is newly indexed has this problem, while pages that were last crawled around one week ago are just fine. Has anyone ran into this type of problem?

                        Technical SEO | May 25, 2024, 4:39 AM | AtuliSulava
                        1
                      • MarkCanning

                        Advise on the right way to block country specific users but not block Googlebot - and not be seen to be cloaking. Help please!

                        international seo crawling

                        Hi, I am working on the SEO of an online gaming platform - a platform that can only be accessed by people in certain countries, where the games and content are legally allowed.
                        Example: The games are not allowed in the USA, but they are allowed in Canada. Present Situation:
                        Presently when a user from the USA visits the site they get directed to a restricted location page with the following message: RESTRICTED LOCATION
                        Due to licensing restrictions, we can't currently offer our services in your location. We're working hard to expand our reach, so stay tuned for updates! Because USA visitors are blocked Google which primarily (but not always) crawls from the USA is also blocked, so the company webpages are not being crawled and indexed. Objective / What we want to achieve: The website will have multiple region and language locations. Some of these will exist as standalone websites and others will exist as folders on the domain. Examples below:
                        domain.com/en-ca [English Canada]
                        domain.com/fr-ca [french Canada]
                        domain.com/es-mx [spanish mexico]
                        domain.com/pt-br [portugese brazil]
                        domain.co.in/hi [hindi India] If a user from USA or another restricted location tries to access our site they should not have access but should get a restricted access message.
                        However we still want google to be able to access, crawl and index our pages. Can i suggest how do we do this without getting done for cloaking etc? Would this approach be ok? (please see below) We continue to work as the present situation is presently doing, showing visitors from the USA a restricted message.
                        However rather than redirecting these visitors to a restricted location page, we just black out the page and show them a floating message as if it were a model window.
                        While Googlebot would be allowed to visit and crawl the website. I have also read that it would be good to put paywall schema on each webpage to let Google know that we are not cloaking and its a restricted paid page. All public pages are accessible but only if the visitor is from a location that is not restricted Any feedback and direction that can be given would be greatly appreciated as i am new to this angle of SEO. Sincere thanks,

                        International SEO | Apr 29, 2024, 12:06 PM | MarkCanning
                        0
                      • CustomMadeCasino

                        GA4 showing 2 versions of my homepage

                        ga4 indexing

                        When my website Custom Made Casino switched from universal analytics to GA, i have noticed that now in the behavior section it is showing 2 versions of my homepage which I feel may be impacting seo. It is showing the main url which we use for everything, https://custommadecasino.com/ , and it is showing https://custommadecasino.com/index.php?route-common/home. This was never the case with universal. Does anyone know if this is a problem and if so, how do i fix it so that our proper homepage is what is indexed?

                        Technical SEO | Jan 29, 2024, 7:58 AM | CustomMadeCasino
                        0
                      • williamhuynh

                        Good to use disallow or noindex for these?

                        technical seo noindex disallow

                        Hello everyone, I am reaching out to seek your expert advice on a few technical SEO aspects related to my website. I highly value your expertise in this field and would greatly appreciate your insights.
                        Below are the specific areas I would like to discuss: a. Double and Triple filter pages: I have identified certain URLs on my website that have a canonical tag pointing to the main /quick-ship page. These URLs are as follows: https://www.interiorsecrets.com.au/collections/lounge-chairs/quick-ship+black
                        https://www.interiorsecrets.com.au/collections/lounge-chairs/quick-ship+black+fabric Considering the need to optimize my crawl budget, I would like to seek your advice on whether it would be advisable to disallow or noindex these pages. My understanding is that by disallowing or noindexing these URLs, search engines can avoid wasting resources on crawling and indexing duplicate or filtered content. I would greatly appreciate your guidance on this matter. b. Page URLs with parameters: I have noticed that some of my page URLs include parameters such as ?variant and ?limit. Although these URLs already have canonical tags in place, I would like to understand whether it is still recommended to disallow or noindex them to further conserve crawl budget. My understanding is that by doing so, search engines can prevent the unnecessary expenditure of resources on indexing redundant variations of the same content. I would be grateful for your expert opinion on this matter. Additionally, I would be delighted if you could provide any suggestions regarding internal linking strategies tailored to my website's structure and content. Any insights or recommendations you can offer would be highly valuable to me. Thank you in advance for your time and expertise in addressing these concerns. I genuinely appreciate your assistance. If you require any further information or clarification, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you. Cheers!

                        Technical SEO | Jul 17, 2023, 12:28 PM | williamhuynh
                        0
                      • odihost

                        Google does not want to index my page

                        I have a site that is hundreds of page indexed on Google. But there is a page that I put in the footer section that Google seems does not like and are not indexing that page. I've tried submitting it to their index through google webmaster and it will appear on Google index but then after a few days it's gone again. Before that page had canonical meta to another page, but it is removed now.

                        Intermediate & Advanced SEO | Feb 28, 2017, 3:58 AM | odihost
                        0
                      • kchandler

                        Proper 301 in Place but Old Site Still Indexed In Google

                        So i have stumbled across an interesting issue with a new SEO client. They just recently launched a new website and implemented a proper 301 redirect strategy at the page level for the new website domain. What is interesting is that the new website is now indexed in Google BUT the old website domain is also still indexed in Google? I even checked the Google Cached date and it shows the new website with a cache date of today. The redirect strategy has been in place for about 30 days. Any thoughts or suggestions on how to get the old domain un-indexed in Google and get all authority passed to the new website?

                        Intermediate & Advanced SEO | Oct 23, 2014, 6:05 AM | kchandler
                        0
                      • nicole.healthline

                        Tool to calculate the number of pages in Google's index?

                        When working with a very large site, are there any tools that will help you calculate the number of links in the Google index? I know you can use site:www.domain.com to see all the links indexed for a particular url. But what if you want to see the number of pages indexed for 100 different subdirectories (i.e. www.domain.com/a, www.domain.com/b)? is there a tool to help automate the process of finding the number of pages from each subdirectory in Google's index?

                        Intermediate & Advanced SEO | Jun 26, 2011, 6:32 PM | nicole.healthline
                        0

                      Get started with Moz Pro!

                      Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                      Start my free trial
                      Products
                      • Moz Pro
                      • Moz Local
                      • Moz API
                      • Moz Data
                      • STAT
                      • Product Updates
                      Moz Solutions
                      • SMB Solutions
                      • Agency Solutions
                      • Enterprise Solutions
                      Free SEO Tools
                      • Domain Authority Checker
                      • Link Explorer
                      • Keyword Explorer
                      • Competitive Research
                      • Brand Authority Checker
                      • Local Citation Checker
                      • MozBar Extension
                      • MozCast
                      Resources
                      • Blog
                      • SEO Learning Center
                      • Help Hub
                      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                      • How-to Guides
                      • Moz Academy
                      • API Docs
                      About Moz
                      • About
                      • Team
                      • Careers
                      • Contact
                      Why Moz
                      • Case Studies
                      • Testimonials
                      Get Involved
                      • Become an Affiliate
                      • MozCon
                      • Webinars
                      • Practical Marketer Series
                      • MozPod
                      Connect with us

                      Contact the Help team

                      Join our newsletter
                      Moz logo
                      © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                      • Accessibility
                      • Terms of Use
                      • Privacy

                      Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.