Noindex tag
A meta tag or HTTP header asking that a page not be shown in search results; the page can be crawled but is not indexed.
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Why it matters
Pages with no value in search, such as thank-you pages, internal search results, test pages and user account screens, are kept out with noindex. That way only genuinely useful pages appear in search results. For the tag to work, the page must be crawlable.
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Example
While preparing a new design on a staging server, a site puts noindex on every page. If the tag is not removed at launch, the site disappears from search entirely; “has noindex been removed?” is added to the launch checklist.
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Common mistake
Carrying the staging noindex tag over to production. This mistake can wipe out a site's traffic overnight; it must always be checked after launch.
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