Websites sometimes appear in search results for unintended queries, leading SEO professionals to ask if they can prevent ranking for specific terms. This question was recently posed on LinkedIn, sparking a response from Google.
The main options considered were using a meta noindex tag or blocking URLs through robots.txt. However, Google's advice suggests these methods aren't ideal for targeting specific queries.
Google's John Mueller explained:
- Noindex or robots.txt disallow blocks pages from all normal searches, not just specific ones.
- It's better to improve content clarity, especially in titles and descriptions.
- Unexpected rankings are normal and not necessarily harmful.
- Noindex is appropriate only for blocking a page from all indexing.
This question arose from an SEO audit by Álvaro Pichó Torres, whose website was appearing for searches like "metal coatings workshop" when that wasn't the intended focus.
Takeaway: You can't easily prevent ranking for specific queries. Instead, focus on improving overall content relevance and clarity.
