‘Discourage Search Engines from Indexing This Site’ Setting

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What Does the ‘Discourage Search Engines from Indexing This Site’ Setting Do?

This setting in WordPress allows you to request that search engines like Google or Bing avoid indexing your site. It’s important to note that this is only a request, and search engines may not always respect it, but most major ones will comply.

 

Why You Might Want to Use This Setting

When to Enable:

  • You might want to use this setting if your website is still under development, and you don’t want it to appear in search results prematurely.
  • It’s also useful for private websites that don’t need to be public-facing, such as personal blogs or internal company sites.

When to Avoid:

  • You generally don’t want to leave this setting enabled for public-facing websites that are ready for search traffic.
  • Forgetting to turn it off can lead to your site being excluded from search engine results, which can negatively impact your site’s visibility and SEO.

 

How to Enable or Disable the ‘Discourage Search Engines’ Setting

Here’s a quick guide to help you enable or disable the setting:

  1. Log in to your WordPress Dashboard.
  2. From the sidebar, go to Settings and click Reading.
  3. Scroll down until you find the section titled Search Engine Visibility.
  4. Check or uncheck the option that says Discourage search engines from indexing this site:
    • Check the box to discourage indexing (useful when your site is not ready for the public).
    • Uncheck the box when your site is live and ready for search engines to index.
  5. Click Save Changes to apply the setting.

Screenshot of the Setting Location: