XF 2.1 Google Search Console: Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag

[askandy]

Any idea why so many threads with /reply?quote=XXXXX would be showing up in Google Search Console > Coverage > Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag



Out of 1000 samples, 884 have this reply?quote= issue.

No doubt they shouldn't be indexed, but why are those quoted thread links even showing up?

Thanks in advance for any help/insight.

 

[Anatoliy]

Any idea why so many threads with /reply?quote=XXXXX would be showing up in Google Search Console > Coverage > Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag

View attachment 230454

Out of 1000 samples, 884 have this reply?quote= issue.

No doubt they shouldn't be indexed, but why are those quoted thread links even showing up?

Thanks in advance for any help/insight.

Those threads are indexed (with high probability), those links are duplicated content. I guess you allow posting for guests, and google collected urls of each reply button.

 

[askandy]

I guess you allow posting for guests, and google collected urls of each reply button.

Oh, interesting. That makes sense -- since Google will follow links. Didn't even think about that.

Outside of disabling Guest Posting, I'm wondering if there's a way to prevent Google from indexing those reply button links. Maybe change the add-on to flag the reply button link as nofollow?

Will contact the add-on developer and report the issue.

Thanks @Anatoliy!

 

[Anatoliy]

I'm wondering if there's a way to prevent Google from indexing those reply button links.

I was trying to reduce my Excluded, too, until I read from Google "don't try to reduce excluded, those are not errors, you don't need to fix them".
So find something another for fixing.

 

[askandy]

So find something another for fixing.

Ha, good advice!