How to Exclude URLs from Your Yoast Sitemap
Are you looking to remove certain URLs from your Yoast sitemap? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it.
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to the Yoast SEO plugin.
- Click on “SEO” and then “Search Appearance.”
- Select the “General” tab and scroll down to the “Sitemaps” section.
- Click on the “Excluded Posts” tab.
- Enter the URLs that you want to exclude from your sitemap in the “Enter URLs to exclude” field.
- Click on “Save Changes.”
Excluding certain URLs from your sitemap can be beneficial for various reasons. It can help improve your website’s crawl budget, prevent duplicate content issues, and ensure that only important pages are indexed by search engines.
Why You Might Want to Remove URLs from Your Sitemap
There are a few scenarios where you might want to exclude certain URLs from your Yoast sitemap:
- Pages that are not important for search engines to index, such as thank you pages or login pages.
- Duplicate content pages, such as print-friendly versions of your posts.
- Pages with low-quality or thin content that you don’t want to rank in search results.
By excluding these URLs from your sitemap, you can ensure that search engines focus on indexing and ranking your most important pages.
How to Find the URLs You Want to Exclude
If you’re not sure which URLs you want to exclude from your sitemap, you can use tools like Google Analytics or Google Search Console to identify them. You can also manually go through your website and make a list of the URLs you want to exclude.
FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can I exclude multiple URLs at once? | Yes, you can enter multiple URLs in the “Enter URLs to exclude” field, separated by commas. |
| Do I need to update my sitemap after excluding URLs? | Yes, you will need to regenerate your sitemap for the changes to take effect. |
| Can I exclude URLs from specific post types? | Yes, you can use the “Excluded Post Types” tab in the Yoast sitemap settings to exclude URLs from specific post types. |
| Can I exclude URLs from my sitemap permanently? | Yes, you can add the URLs to the “Permanent Redirects” tab in the Yoast sitemap settings to exclude them permanently. |
| Will excluding URLs from my sitemap affect my website’s SEO? | No, excluding URLs from your sitemap will not have a negative impact on your website’s SEO as long as you are only excluding non-important or duplicate content pages. |
By following these steps, you can easily exclude URLs from your Yoast sitemap and improve your website’s overall SEO. Remember to regularly review and update your sitemap to ensure that only important and relevant pages are being indexed by search engines.