Google Adds New Removals Report To Search Console

On Tuesday, Google launched a new version of the Removals Report in Search Console.

The new removals tool does three basic things. Along with showing outdated content, the tool also lets users know which content was filtered by SafeSearch.

Perhaps the most useful feature of the three is its ability to block URLs from appearing in Google Search temporarily.

In its webmaster central blog, Search Console Software Engineer, Tali Pruss said:

“We’re happy to announce that we’re launching a new version of the Removals report in Search Console, which enables site owners to temporarily hide a page from appearing in Google Search results.”

Let’s explore the functions a little, shall we?

New Removals Report on Search Console.

Here are the three areas of the Search Console report.

1. Temporarily Remove Pages from Google Search

Webmasters and SEOs can use the temporary removal request to remove specific content on their site from Google Search results.

According to Google, a successful removal could take as much as six months. That way, site owners can have sufficient time to find a permanent solution to issues.

Site owners can use two types of requests. There’s the temporary remove URL request, which not only hides the website from Google, but it also clears the cached copy of the page.

Then, we have the clear cache URL request, which clears the cached page. Also, the request wipes out the page description snippet in Search until Google crawls the site again.

2. Outdated Content

This section allows site owners to track removal requests made through the public Remove Outdated Content tool.

Google points out that anyone can use the Remove Outdated Content tool to update search results showing information that’s no longer included on a page. Now site owners can track these actions and act accordingly.

3. SafeSearch Filtering

In this section, webmasters will know which pages on their site was reported as adult content.

The SafeSearch suggestion tool enables any user to report specific URLs as adult content. Google would then review the page before deciding to tag it as adult content.

Rather than wonder which content was removed due to SafeSearch, the new Removals report would help communicate that.

How to Access the Removals Report

To access the tools, launch the Google Search Console and check under the “Index” menu. It’s labeled as Removals.

Alternatively, you can go to https://search.google.com/search-console/removals to access the tool. Then select a property.

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