Submitted URL marked “noindex” – Fixing Google Search Console Errors

Here is how your fix the “Submitted URL marked ‘noindex'” error in the Google Search Console.

When Google says “Submitted” this will usually refer to your Sitemap.

The sitemap is entered into the Google search console page called “Sitemaps” here:

The error is telling you that you have one or more pages in your sitemap that are set to noindex.

This basically creates a conflicting statement to Google, because you are saying:

1. Here is my Sitemap, Google please index all of these pages.
2. This page is set to noindex, Google please don’t index this page.

Google wants you to be consistent to prevent wasted crawling and prevent indexing conflicts.

So to fix this error, remove all pages set to noindex from your sitemap file.

Fixing in Different CMS

Here is some more info on how to fix this issue in various different CMS:

• WordPress – the Yoast plugin will usually automatically do this for you in WordPress if you have edited the “Search Appearance” settings to remove certain pages from the index. Individual pages can also be removed following these instructions: https://kb.yoast.com/kb/sitemap-shows-excluded-posts-pages/
• Shopify – There’s a fantastic App in Shopify called the “Sitemap & Noindex Manager” that makes removing urls from the Sitemap (as well as adding noindex to certain pages) really easy: https://apps.shopify.com/sitemap-noindex-manager
• Opencart – it’s not the easiest to do in Opencart, but it can be done. The “Advanced Sitemap Generator” from Geckodev is my preferred way, as it allows you to manually remove types or specific urls from the sitemap in Opencart: https://www.opencart.com/index.php?route=marketplace/extension/info&extension_id=32577

Need Help? Consider My SEO Audits

A thorough check of Google Search Console is included as part of my SEO Audit & Opportunity Service.

Contact me via email for more information on this: info@matt-jackson.com