WP Auto Noindex is a lightweight WordPress plugin that automatically applies safe noindex,follow rules to low-value URLs that can create index bloat, dilute topical relevance, and clutter Google Search Console.
What problem does it solve?
Most WordPress sites generate pages that are technically valid, but rarely useful in organic search, things like internal search result pages, thin archives, and attachment pages. When these URLs get crawled and indexed, they can:
- Waste crawl budget (Googlebot spends time on pages that don’t matter)
- Create “Crawled – currently not indexed” noise in Search Console
- Split relevance across many thin URLs instead of strengthening key pages
- Cause duplication and index bloat over time
How it works
WP Auto Noindex adds noindex,follow to selected page types. That means search engines are told not to index the page, while still being able to follow internal links to discover important content.
What it can noindex
- Search pages (e.g.
?s=and search results) - Tag archives and author archives (where they’re thin or not intended to rank)
- Paged archives (page 2+ of archives that rarely add value)
- Attachment pages (a common source of thin URLs)
- Custom taxonomy archives (optional)
WooCommerce support
If you run WooCommerce, WP Auto Noindex is designed to be WooCommerce-aware. It can help prevent low-value system URLs being indexed (for example cart and checkout pages), without interfering with products and category pages you actually want to rank.
Best practice notes
- Noindex is not the same as blocking. We generally prefer noindex over robots blocking so Google can still crawl links.
- Don’t noindex valuable taxonomy pages. If category/tag pages are part of your SEO strategy, keep them indexable.
- Measure impact. Watch Search Console for reduced noise and better crawl focus over time.
Next steps
- Read: How WP Auto Noindex works
- Read: Recommended settings
- Read: WooCommerce indexing guidance