How to Remove Noindex Tag in WordPress

What is Noindex Tag in WordPress

The noindex tag is an HTML meta tag that tells search engines not to index a particular page. While this can be useful for certain pages that you don?t want to appear in search results, having it on important pages can severely harm your SEO efforts. If you've discovered that your WordPress site is not being indexed properly, it's crucial to remove the noindex tag to ensure that search engines can crawl and rank your pages. In this article, we?ll walk you through the steps to remove the noindex tag in WordPress.

Why Remove Noindex Tag?

Removing the noindex tag is essential for SEO because it ensures that search engines can index your pages. Indexed pages are visible in search engine results, which can drive more traffic to your site. Here are some reasons why you might need to remove the noindex tag:

• Increased Visibility: Indexed pages appear in search results, increasing the chances of attracting organic traffic.
• SEO Optimization: Ensures that all important pages are indexed and ranked.
• Error Resolution: Fixes issues where important pages were mistakenly set to noindex.

How to Identify Noindex Tags

Before removing the noindex tag, it?s important to identify which pages are affected. Here?s how you can do it:

1. Use a Site Audit Tool: Tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or SEMrush can crawl your site and identify pages with noindex tags.
2. Check Source Code: Manually view the source code of your web pages. Right-click on the page, select ?View Page Source,? and search for noindex.
3. Google Search Console: Check the coverage report in Google Search Console for any indexing issues.

Steps to Remove Noindex Tag in WordPress

There are several methods to remove the noindex tag in WordPress, depending on how it was added. Here are the steps:

Method 1: Using WordPress Settings

1. Login to Your WordPress Admin Dashboard:
   • Go to yourwebsite.com/wp-admin and log in.
2. Check Reading Settings:
   • Navigate to Settings > Reading.
   • Ensure the option Discourage search engines from indexing this site is unchecked.
   • Click Save Changes.

Method 2: Using SEO Plugins

If you are using an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack, it might have added the noindex tag. Here?s how to remove it:

1. Yoast SEO:
   • Go to SEO > Search Appearance.
   • Under the Content Types tab, ensure that Show [content type] in search results? is set to Yes for the relevant content types (posts, pages, etc.).
   • Repeat for the Taxonomies and Archives tabs.
   • Click Save Changes.
2. All in One SEO Pack:
   • Go to All in One SEO > General Settings.
   • Ensure the option Use noindex for Pages is unchecked.
   • Click Update Options.

Method 3: Manual Code Removal

If the noindex tag was added manually or through a theme or custom function, you might need to edit your theme files:

1. Access Theme Editor:
   • Go to Appearance > Theme Editor.
   • Select the header.php file or any other file where the noindex tag might be added.
2. Remove Noindex Code:
   • Look for code similar to this: HTML
      

     <meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">
   • Remove the line or modify it to: HTML
     <meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
   • Click Update File.

Method 4: Check and Remove via Functions.php

If the noindex tag is added through the functions.php file, you will need to edit this file:

1. Access Functions.php:
   • Go to Appearance > Theme Editor.
   • Select functions.php.
2. Remove Noindex Code:
   • Look for any code that adds the noindex tag, such as: PHP
      
     add_action('wp_head', 'add_noindex_meta'); function add_noindex_meta() { echo ''; }
   • Remove or comment out this code.
   • Click Update File.

Final Steps: Verify Changes

After removing the noindex tag, it?s important to verify that your pages are now indexable:

1. Inspect Page Source:
   • Right-click on the page, select View Page Source, and search for noindex to ensure it has been removed.
2. Google Search Console:
   • Use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console to check the status of your pages. Ensure that the pages are now indexable.
3. Site Audit:
   • Run another site audit using tools like Screaming Frog to confirm that the noindex tags are no longer present.

Conclusion

Removing the noindex tag in WordPress is a critical step in ensuring that your site is properly indexed by search engines. By following the methods outlined in this guide?adjusting WordPress settings, using SEO plugins, and editing theme files?you can effectively remove the noindex tag and improve your site?s SEO visibility. Regularly monitoring your site with tools like Google Search Console can help you identify and fix indexing issues promptly, ensuring your content reaches a wider audience.