Its role is different from robots.txt, which prevents crawling. Additionally, the exclusion from search setting is not a security feature that replaces login or access rights.
Search exclusions and access restrictions are different
You can consider noindexing public pages that you don't want included in search results. If you need to protect customer information or private documents, you need authentication and access rights. Even if there is noindex, anyone who knows the address can open it directly.
If you can't read the rules, you can't apply them
If you block page crawling with robots.txt, search engines may not see the noindex in it. Google also does not support the noindex directive in the robots.txt file. Check the page response or meta tag together with the crawlability status.
Checks after publishing
Ensure that no settings from the staging site remain in the production environment. If important service pages have been excluded, edit the settings and check the status after they are crawled again. When you change the settings, the changes will not appear in all search results at once.
Key takeaways
- A rule that signals exclusion from the search index.
- View crawl status together so you can check your rules.
- Private information is protected with separate access rights.