Search engines are the primary source of traffic for most websites on the Internet. Be deindexed by Google can cause most of your traffic to disappear. In this article, we will show you why your WordPress site was deindexed by Google and what you can do to fix it.
Recover a WordPress site after being deindexed by Google
There are several reasons which can lead Google to remove a site from its search index. We will review the most recurring reasons.
Before doing this, you must examine the contents of your site itself. If a site has a contents illegal and harmful, Google will not be able to include it in search results. Make sure you understand Webmaster Guides on Google.
With that said, let's take a look at some of the reasons that can cause Google to de-index a WordPress site.
Check the Search Engine Visibility Settings on WordPress
WordPress comes with an option to hide your site from search engines. The purpose of this option is to allow site owners to work on their site without getting traffic.
It is possible that you, or another user with administrator level access to your website may have accidentally enabled this option.
Just log into the admin area of your WordPress site and go to the page Settings »Playback. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, there you will find the visibility option.
Make sure the box next to the search engine visibility option is unchecked. If it is checked, then all you have to do is uncheck, then click on the "Save changes" button to save everything.
Check your site with Google Search Console
Google allows webmasters to see how their websites are viewed through " Search Console ”(Once a tool for webmasters). If you haven't yet added your WordPress site to Google Search Console, then you can do it now.
Once connected to your Google Search Console account, there are three main sections where Google informs you directly of what is wrong with your site.
posts: This is where Google sends messages directly to your Google search console account.
Crawl Errors: If for some reason Google cannot crawl your site properly, then this is the page where these errors will appear.
Security issues: On this page, Google will alert you if a security issue is detected on your website.
Check your site for malicious code
One of the most common reasons for removing an index from a site is the presence of malware. If a WordPress site is hacked, hackers can install a script that can generate malware on users' browsers.
People who visit your site will see a browsing warning with browsers like Google Chrome.
Cleaning a hacked WordPress site involves several steps such as locating infected files, cleaning or replacing.
This is the reason why many webmasters use Sucuri on their websites. We highly recommend it.
Reach out to Google
After going through all the steps mentioned above, you can reach out to Google and ask them to reconsider the position of your site in their index.
Here's how to request a re-entry in the Google search index.
First, make sure your Website follows Google's webmaster quality guidelines, and that you have checked it well.
If you are certain that your site is clean and safe, then you can simply submit a request for reconsideration.
We hope this article has provided you with an understanding of why your WordPress site has been deindexed by Google and how you can fix it.
If you have comments about this article, or suggestions, please let us know in the dedicated section.
