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Remove URLs Tool | How It Works For Beginner SEO Webmasters

A few months ago, Google introduced a Remove URLs Tool that temporarily blocks search results from your site, or manages SafeSearch filtering. As a rule, the Remove URLs Tool enables you to temporarily block pages from Google Search results on sites that you own. However, for the sites that you don’t own, you can go ahead and use this troubleshooter.

Bearing in mind, the tool also allows you to see any URLs on your site that were reported as containing adult content. Ranking on the first page of Google is the goal for many businesses, but to get there, you cannot take shortcuts or expect it to happen overnight. Often, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) takes time, effort and patience to yield results.

Although, in most cases, success will look different for everyone, depending on variables like budget, skill, and competition. And that’s why the URL Inspection Tool provides information about Google’s indexed version of a specific page.

How does the Remove URLs Tool work?

Since by now you already know how URL Inspection Tools work, today I am going to elaborate more on how temporarily blocks search results from your site. Or even, how you can manage your Google SafeSearch filtering.

The new tool allows you to temporarily block URLs from showing in Google, by showing outdated content and content filtered by SafeSearch.

Google URL Inspection Tool

Eventually, when Google launched the new Remove URLs Tool, it can be located within Google Search Console. And as can be seen, from my introductory bit, this Remove URLs Tool is capable of doing three things. So, the big question that is running up on your mind is;

What does the Remove URLs Tool offer?
  1. First, it lets you temporarily hide URLs from showing in Google search,
  2. Secondly, it shows you which content is not in Google because it is “outdated content,”
  3. Lastly, it shows you which of your URLs were filtered by Google’s SafeSearch adult filter.

You can access the tool within Google Search Console, under the “Index” menu, labeled as “Removals.” Also, you can go to https://search.google.com/search-console/removals to access the tool and then select a property.

How do you Temporarily Remove URLs?

Important to realize, Google allows you to remove URLs from showing in Google search quickly via Google Search Console.

And although this was a feature in the old Search Console, it’s now is available in the new version. Below is a screenshot image from our search console page on how it all appears like:

Removals Tool

Equally important, the temporary URL removals do not actually delete your URL from Google’s index. Instead, it just hides the URL for about six-months from showing up in the search results.

Therefore, you’ll still need to permanently block the URL in the future. Such as by using a 404, robots.txt or another method to block the URL.

Which are the two types of Google URL removals?

Temporary Remove URL: It will hide the URL from Google Search results for about six months and clear the cached copy of the page.

Clear cache URL: Clears the cached page and wipes out the page description snippet in Search results until the page is crawled again.

What is Outdated Content?

By the same token, the outdated content section provides information on removal requests made through the public Remove Outdated Content tool.

Obviously, which can be used by anyone to update search results showing information that is no longer present on a page.

And by all means, you can see a history of all requests to update or remove outdated Google Search results. Particularly, for your site that was made using the Remove Outdated Content tool in the past 6 months.

What is SafeSearch Filtering?

This section shows you which of your content was reported as adult content. Google users can report specific URLs as adult-only to Google using the SafeSearch suggestion tool.

After all, the URLs submitted using this tool are reviewed. And if Google feels that this content should be filtered from SafeSearch results, these URLs are tagged as adult content.

More often, it is hard for SEOs and webmasters to know which of their content was removed due to SafeSearch. And so, this tool should help communicate that.

Why should you care?

Simply, because this tool gives SEOs, webmasters, site owners, and others access to quickly remove content from Google search.

Of course, Yes! It also sees why some content was removed due to third-party requests. And from there you can take action to try and unblock content removal requests you made. Also, you can take actions on third-party requests due to outdated content or SafeSearch filtering.

Google Indexed Information includes AMP errors, structured data errors, and indexing issues. Having said that, you can read and learn more from my previous article on the URL Inspection Tool | Step-by-step Guideline for Beginners.

Takeaway,

If you own, manage, monetize, or promote online content via Google Search Console, this guide is meant for you. And if you might be the owner of a growing and thriving business, there is a collection of help that comes by.

Not to mention, some of whom are so adept and passionate about the mechanics of Search. With references affiliated to;

  1. the webmaster of a dozen sites,
  2. the SEO specialist in a Web agency,
  3. or a DIY SEO ninja (like jmexclusives).

In reality, our SEO best practices guide is very substantial for every beginner webmaster, but it won’t provide any secrets that’ll automatically rank your site first in Google (sorry!).

But, by following some of the best practices outlined above will hopefully make it easier. Allowing for your URL index coverage fixtures, search engines to crawl, index and understand your content too.

Resources;

Finally, I hope the above-revised guide on Google URL Inspection Tool was helpful to both you and webmasters.

But, if you’ll need further guidance of more support, please Contact Us. Or even, leave your questions and insights in the comments section below this blog.

Not forgetting, by utilizing a WordPress SEO Plugin (like the Yoast SEO) can greatly help. At the same time, you should research more on content optimization strategic guides.

Here are more useful and related topic links;

  1. Google-friendly Sites Beginners Guidelines
  2. AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) | Webmaster Guidelines
  3. What does Website Design & Development entail?
  4. Website Backup | Best Methods & Practices For Beginners
  5. SEO Analysis Tools | 10 Best for Every New Webmaster
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