One of the main obstacles encountered by webmasters is regulating the content that search engines index. Fortunately, using useful tools like the Yoast SEO plugin can greatly simplify managing your website’s SEO. However, there may be instances where you need to eliminate a certain URL from your sitemap. This guide will instruct you on how to remove a URL from the sitemap using Yoast SEO.
Why Exclude a URL?
There are several reasons why you might want to remove a URL from your sitemap. For instance, you could have pages or posts that you do not wish to be indexed by search engines. This could be because they contain sensitive information, or simply because they don’t contribute to your site’s SEO.
Steps to Remove a URL from Sitemap Using Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO plugin has a simple process that you can follow to exclude specific URLs from your sitemap. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Installing and Activating Yoast SEO Plugin
If you haven’t installed the Yoast SEO plugin, you can find it in the WordPress repository. To install the plugin, navigate to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard and search for ‘Yoast SEO’. Click on ‘Install’ and then ‘Activate’.
Step 2: Deselecting a Page from the Sitemap
To exclude a page from the sitemap, go to the edit screen of the page. Scroll down to the Yoast SEO meta box, click on the ‘Advanced’ tab. Under ‘Allow search engines to show this Page in search results?’ select ‘No’. This will exclude the page from the sitemap.
// In the page’s backend, it would be something like this:
<input type=”radio” id=”yoast_seo_meta_robots_index” name=”yoast_seo_meta_robots_index” value=”noindex” checked>
<label for=”yoast_seo_meta_robots_index”>No</label>
Remember to update or publish the page to make sure that the changes are saved.
Step 3: Confirm Removal
To confirm that the URL has been successfully removed from the sitemap, you can check your sitemap by navigating to ‘yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml’. The URL should no longer be present.
Conclusion
Excluding URLs from your sitemap can be a necessary step in optimizing your website’s SEO. With the Yoast SEO plugin, it is a simple process that can be managed directly from your WordPress dashboard. Remember that it is essential to ensure that the right pages are being indexed by search engines to improve your site’s visibility and ranking.
