Removing things from Google now easier
Posted by
Martin Stabe
on 18 April 2007 at 09:12
Tags: Google
Good news for Belgian newspapers and other would be search engine refuseniks! Google has released new tools that make it easier for web site owners to request removal of content from the search engine’s index.
Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land has the details.
The tool allows entire sites to be removed from Google. However, it also but also more fine-tuned exclusions, such as removing individual files or directories.
However, only files or directories that return a 404 or 410 error message (ie, which have been deleted from the server), and which is blocked in the site’s robots.txt file or robots meta tag is eligible for removal from Google using the new tool.
This won’t settle the ongoing debates about whether Google’s opt-out approach to copyright law is appropriate, but it certainly gives online publishers far greater control over opting out if they really want to.
The tool also allows requests for expedited removal from the Google cache. This option will also come as a relief to editors concerned about libellous or other legally-objectionable material that has been removed from their online archives but lives on in Google’s cache.
Tags: Google
