How to fix "Discourage search engines" in WordPress
One checkbox in Settings → Reading adds noindex to every page. It is meant for sites under construction and is often left on after launch.
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What it is
"Discourage search engines from indexing this site" is a checkbox in WordPress under Settings → Reading. When it is ticked, WordPress adds <meta name='robots' content='noindex, nofollow'> to every page, which asks search engines to drop the whole site from their results.
It is meant for sites under construction and is often ticked by default on staging copies, so it survives the move to the live site. Nothing looks wrong to visitors, but Google removes pages as it recrawls them, and a new site never gets indexed at all.
OK looks like this: the box is unticked on the live site and the home page has no noindex in its robots meta tag. getReport reads the tag WordPress prints and fails the check when the setting is on.
What a passing site looks like
- Search engines are not discouraged in Settings → Readingfail · −8 ptseffort S
"Discourage search engines" is switched on
Why it matters. The WordPress setting adds a site-wide noindex, nofollow tag. It is meant for sites under construction and is often left on after launch, which removes the whole site from Google.
- In wp-admin go to Settings → Reading and untick "Discourage search engines from indexing this site".
- Then request indexing in Google Search Console; pages usually return within days to weeks.
Questions people ask
What does discourage search engines from indexing this site mean?
It is a WordPress setting that asks search engines not to index your site. When ticked, WordPress adds a noindex, nofollow robots meta tag to every page. Well-behaved search engines then leave the site out of results or drop pages they had already indexed. It does not block visitors or password-protect anything.
Should I discourage search engines from indexing this site?
Only while the site is under construction or on a staging copy you do not want found. Untick it as soon as the site goes live, otherwise Google will not index it. For real privacy on a staging site, use password protection instead, because the setting is only a request.
How do you turn off discourage search engines in WordPress?
Log in to wp-admin, go to Settings → Reading, untick "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" and save. Clear any page cache so the noindex tag disappears from cached pages, then submit your sitemap or request indexing in Google Search Console to speed up the return.
How long does it take Google to index a site after unticking the setting?
Usually days to a few weeks. Google has to recrawl each page to see the noindex is gone; the home page and pages in your sitemap come back first. Submitting the sitemap and requesting indexing for key pages in Search Console speeds it up.