How To Remove A Domain From Google Search Results

Of late I've been slowly moving some of my posts to my other blog. The posts in question seemed misplaced in contrast to most of the content actualization here, hence the reason for the move.

While doing this, I was forced to face up one major roadblock: the posts, while few, had already been indexed on Google SERPs. Every bit such, simply deleting these posts and moving them to my other blog would have lilliputian outcome on their index condition on the search results, at to the lowest degree in the side by side few months.

A meliorate arroyo, and the i that's recommended from a SEO perspective, is to practice permanent 301-redirects to the new URLs in the new blog. This way, not only will my readers find the content they were looking for (instead of getting a 404) but Google Bots will likewise follow their new locations on my other blog, hence retaining their position in the search result pages.

Unfortunately equally yous might accept figured out by now, it's not possible to practise 301 redirects on Blogger to external sites or other blogger blogs, be they on a BlogSpot domain or a Custom domain. Such redirects tin only be done internally within the web log itself.

So what does that mean? For me well it meant I had to swallow the bitter pill and only practice the 404'south. Somewhen those posts would be dropped from the search results equally the bots encounter their 404 response. This would nonetheless have long and in the meanwhile information technology would mean traffic from the search results would instead exist greeted with my 404 page.

Using the Remove URL Tool to Remove Blogger URLs

To avoid this, I decided to remove the URLs from the search results using Search Console'southward Remove URL Tool.

Google recommends the employ of this tool equally a temporary measure (for case removing sensitive content); for permanent removal however, one has to ensure
that the source pages are completely removed or updated.

I chose to practice the former and have since successfully removed some high
ranking posts with it. It however took some trial and error initially due to Blogger's peculiar URL structure and how Google indexes them.

I'll be addressing this so that you tin can avoid some of these pitfalls when using the Remove URL Tool.

Step one: Identify the URLs to Remove

one. Detect which posts or pages yous want to remove and re-create their URLs somewhere.

2. If y'all desire to remove the mail or page completely, delete it and so that it returns a 404 page. If information technology's but temporarily, simply leave it as information technology is.

Step 2: Setting Up Search Console

1. If you're not using Google's Search Console already, get to the Search Console folio and Sign in into your Google Account to get started.

2. Next add together your Blogger Site as a New Holding. You'll and so may be required to verify your ownership of this website using various methods.

three. Once yous're done verifying your site, make sure to add other properties of all its variations, that is: www/not-world wide web and http/https versions. So for case, you may have 4 properties as follows:

http://world wide web.YourBloggerURL.com
https://www.YourBloggerURL.com
http://YourBloggerURL.com
https://YourBloggerURL.com

Note:

You won't have to verify the variations again.
If yous oasis't turned on HTTPS in Blogger settings, you can skip adding the HTTPS versions.

4. To finish, make sure to select your preferred domain amid the variations www/non-world wide web variations y'all've added. If you're unsure which to employ, bank check which Google indexes in their search results.

Notation:

If you lot desire to set the HTTPS version as the preffered domain, make sure the redirect to HTTPs is turned on in blogger settings.

Stride iii: Removing the URLs

1. On your Search Console Dashboard select the holding of your preferred domain (or the ane that Google has indexed).

two. From the sidebar select Google Alphabetize then Remove URLs.

3. Earlier removing the URL, it's a practiced idea to starting time check which exact URL is being used in the Google Search Results. This is because the URL as you published may not necessarily be the i or the only one that has been indexed.

Equally you are aware, Blogger uses a different URL structure for visitors on desktop and mobile. A parameter is added to the end of the URL to serve users the mobile or desktop versions of your site as follows:

          Published/Desktop URL:          https://world wide web.YourBloggerURL.com/2018/08/your-post-url-hither/
          Mobile Version:          https://www.YourBloggerURL.com/2018/08/your-mail-url-hither/?m=1
          Forced Desktop Version:          https://www.YourBloggerURL.com/2018/08/your-post-url-here/?m=0

Now you may find that Google has indexed 1 of these variations or even all of them. Since there's no canonical URL among them, Google makes that choice for y'all.

To check which URL version Google has indexed for a item mail service/folio that y'all want to remove exercise the following:

a. Go to Google search and do a site search for your Blog as follows:

site:www.YourBloggerURL.com

To narrow downward to a specific mail service add together a keyword(south) that matches the target postal service/page follows:

site:www.YourBloggerURL.com keyword1 keyword2

b. Open the search result and from the address bar observe the URL used. Copy this URL.

4. Go back to the Remove URLs folio on Search Console and click on the Temporarily Hibernate push.

5. Paste the URL that you copied and click the Keep push button.

6. On the Request Type select the first choice: Temporarily hide folio from search effect and remove enshroud. If you merely want to remove the cached version, select the second option: Remove page from cache only.

Note:

this will also remove the non-world wide web/www and http/https versions and so y'all don't accept to remove those manually if they're already indexed.

7. Click the Submit Request button to finish. You lot should get a notification informing you that the URL has been added for removal. If that detail URL had already been removed, you'll get a notification on the same.

8. The URL will at present appear in the removal queue with a Pending Condition. Should yous want to cancel request, practise information technology before the Awaiting status changes to Removed.

If you happen to enter an invalid URL as I did myself a couple of times, the status will change to Expired afterward a few days. So take note of the URL later on it queues information technology for removal.

9. At present just repeat this process for the mobile and desktop URL variations if they're indexed too.

If yous're not certain, it won't injure removing them as well (this is what I had ignored and for a week or two I was under the imitation impression that Google was "refusing" to remove some of my URLs).

ten. Now just give it 24 hours or some few days and the URLs status will change to Removed.

If they're returning 404s they should exist gone permanently. On the other hand, if this was but a temporary measure out, you can return them back to the search results by clicking the Reinclude push.

Fixing 404s

A few days after after doing this for your deleted pages, you'll beginning getting messages on your Search Console/Email regarding new coverage issues. These issues will exist the new 404s the bots are getting and search console will alert you in hope of you lot fixing them. Don't practise this.

If you lot mark them as fixed, you'd be telling Google that the pages notwithstanding be which is not the case and this volition merely result in an endless wheel of you beingness prompted to ready said URLs.

But go out them every bit they are and over time Google will effigy out the pages are not missing past error and therefore should be removed permanently from their index.