Resolving Indexing Issues with Login?ref= Pages in Our Web App
Hello everyone,
I’m seeking some advice regarding an issue we’re facing with our web app. Our Login?ref= pages are being crawled and indexed, despite being set to no-index. This has led to these pages consuming a significant amount of our crawl budget, and there are thousands of such instances.
Our development team maintains that these pages are necessary to prevent phishing and to ensure proper internal redirection within the app. This redirection is crucial for directing users to the correct locations based on their interactions with our marketing site or materials.
Does anyone have suggestions on how we can prevent these pages from being indexed? These pages are meant to be temporary and are not stored in the database. Your insights would be greatly appreciated!
2 responses to “My Login?ref= pages are being indexed”
If your
Login?ref=pages are being indexed despite being set tonoindex, it can be frustrating as it consumes your valuable crawl budget. Here are some detailed steps you can take to address this issue:1. Verify the
noindexImplementation:Ensure that the
noindexdirective is correctly implemented. Here’s what you need to check:Correct Meta Tag: Make sure your HTML pages have the correct meta tag in the
<head>section:html<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">
HTTP Headers: For dynamic pages, ensure the
noindexdirective is included in your HTTP response headers:X-Robots-Tag: noindex, nofollowEnsure Proper Placement: Double-check that the
noindextag is not being overwritten or removed by JavaScript or other scripts after the page loads.2. Use Robots.txt to Block Crawling:
While
robots.txtcan’t prevent indexing, it can prevent crawling. Ensure the pages aren’t being accessed as follows:robots.txt:User-agent: *Disallow: /Login
This will stop well-behaved bots from crawling those URLs, although if there are links from other sites pointing to these URLs, they might still get indexed.
3. Canonical Tag Implementation:
If there are many similar URLs and some still need to be accessible, consider using canonical tags to avoid indexing of specific ones. For example:
html<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/preferred-page-url" />
4. Internal Linking and Redirection Scheme:
Login?ref=URLs.5. Remove Indexed URLs via Search Console:
Login?ref=are already indexed, you can request their removal through Google Search Console using the “Remove URLs” tool, found under the “Legacy Tools and Reports” section.6. Analyze Server Logs:
Hi there,
This is a common challenge many web applications face, especially when dealing with dynamic URLs like `Login?ref=` parameters. It sounds like you’re taking the right steps by using the noindex tag, but there are a few additional strategies you might consider to further mitigate indexing issues.
1. **Robots.txt**: If you haven’t already, ensure that you’ve implemented proper rules in your robots.txt file to disallow crawling of these specific query parameters. This can help guide search engine bots away from these pages altogether.
2. **Canonical Tags**: If there’s a preferred version of the page, you might want to employ canonical tags to indicate which URL should be prioritized for indexing. This could be particularly useful if there’s an underlying page you want search engines to focus on.
3. **Query Parameter Handling in Google Search Console**: Use Google Search Console to manage how Googlebot handles query parameters. By specifying that certain parameters affect content or should be ignored, you can help preserve your crawl budget.
4. **Limit Parameter Usage**: If it’s feasible, consider structuring your login URLs without query strings (if it doesn’t compromise functionality). This can reduce complexity and help avoid issues with indexing altogether.
5. **Monitoring Crawl Activity**: Regularly check your server logs to monitor how often these pages are being crawled and adjust strategies based on the data.
It’s great to see your team is also considering the security aspect of these URLs. Perhaps reinforcing user education on phishing