Noindex Nofollow

How Noindex and Nofollow Work Together

Noindex and nofollow solve different problems. Noindex controls whether a page appears in search results. Nofollow controls whether search engines follow the links on that page.

You can use them together. For example, a login page might carry both noindex and nofollow. That keeps the page out of search results and stops crawlers from following its links.

Google treats noindex as a strong directive. Once it sees the tag, it removes the page from its index. Nofollow is a hint for most purposes, not a strict command.

• Noindex: page is removed from search results after crawling.
• Nofollow: links on the page are not followed, so no link equity passes.
• Combined: page hidden from search, and its links do not pass signals.

When to Use Noindex vs Nofollow

Use noindex for pages you do not want in search results. Examples include admin pages, duplicate content, or internal search result pages. Use nofollow for links you do not want to endorse, such as user-generated content or paid links.

A common mistake is using nofollow to hide a page. That does not work. The page can still be indexed if discovered. Use noindex for that purpose.

For non-HTML resources like PDFs, use the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header to deliver noindex. The meta tag only works in HTML.

• Noindex: pages you want out of search results.
• Nofollow: links you do not want to pass authority.
• Both: pages with untrusted content and links.

Common Implementation Mistakes

Many site owners confuse robots.txt with noindex. Blocking a page in robots.txt stops crawling but not indexing. If Google finds the URL from a sitemap or external link, it may still index it. Use noindex instead.

For more on how indexing works, see seo indexing.

Another mistake is applying nofollow to a page you want hidden. Nofollow does not affect indexing. The page can still appear in search results.

A third error is blocking a page in robots.txt while also adding a noindex tag. Google cannot crawl the page, so it never sees the noindex directive. The page may remain indexed if discovered elsewhere.

How Search Engines Interpret These Directives

Google's documentation states that noindex is a directive, not a hint. When Google encounters a noindex tag, it will drop the page from search results after crawling. Nofollow, however, is treated as a hint for most purposes. Google may still follow nofollow links in some cases, such as for discovery.

Bing follows similar rules. Both engines support the meta robots tag and the X-Robots-Tag header.

The key difference between noindex and robots.txt is that noindex requires crawling. If you block crawling, you cannot deliver the noindex signal. That is why how robots.txt works is not a substitute for noindex.

Noindex, Nofollow, and Site Architecture

For large sites, controlling indexation is critical. Pages like faceted navigation filters can create thousands of low-value URLs. Using noindex on those pages keeps the index clean. See faceted navigation seo for more.

Sitemaps should only list pages you want indexed. If a page has noindex, do not include it in your what is a sitemap. That avoids confusion.

When building links, remember that nofollow links do not pass authority. But they can still drive traffic. For more on link signals, read about Nofollow Link. Also, see nofollow links. To find links that do pass authority, see finding dofollow backlinks. For off-page tactics, article submission seo may be relevant.