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Q: [How to] Make it so that when a url gets typed into a browser, it does not bring up our site?
Short A: n/a
Longer A:
There are a variety of things you’ll need to do. Some will depend on WHY you don’t want a specific URL to land on your website any longer.
-1- Set the target URL (page or post) to ‘noindex nofollow’ (important)
-2- Remove the target URL from your sitemap (and resubmit)
-3- Redirect the target URL to whereverthehell [
good word
] - this is where it gets tricky.
Reason NOT To Redirect - Google may also rank pages based on the behavior of other pages on your website. So pages that result in poor UX (user experience) may drag down other ‘good’ pages.
We’ve had success redirecting to ‘fake 404 pages’ -- an actual good URL on our domain that presents generic info -- e.g., ‘We’ve Moved To HubSpot’ or ‘Service Discontinued’-- and with a button back to our homepage. This gives the visitor the option to click and therefore move forward in the visitor flow being tracked by Google. (
recommended only for very specific use cases
)
Reason TO Redirect - you just need to do it. If that’s the case, redirect somewhere that doesn’t hurt the UX or your brand -- e.g., maybe to a topically relevant affiliate product page. (
just a thought
)