Can you link to a noindex page from Google Business Profile?

[daniowens]

Hi there,

I wanted to start a discussion on this topic.

I don't really want to do this at all, but I was wondering if this is allowed by Google. I haven't found a direct answer on this topic, but it seems the answer is yes, that Google allows it but that it's not a great idea.

The only reason I'm asking about this is because of the 2024 Diversity Update. For some businesses that don't have another page to link to (for example, a multi-location business that only has one page for each location such as a Location Page), would adding a link to a non-indexable landing page in GBP be accepted by Google?

The concern is that the noindex page doesn't have any ranking authority so linking to it from GBP may negatively impact GBP rankings.

Some brands have quite a bit of red tape to cut through when making SEO changes, so I'm curious what others think of this approach when your hands are tied and you don't have another page to link to for the 2024 Diversity Update.

Some other notes so that this thread doesn't get off topic: We'd add the appropriate UTM codes to the non-indexable landing page so there won't be any GA and conversion tracking issues. That's not a concern. Making the non-indexable landing page indexible is not an option at this time.

 

[Brian - TGL]

Could you choose another already existing page that isn't ranking high but still has KWs that is indexed and still add your UTM (not a high ranking page as it was mentioned in the article that could negatively affect rankings also)?

Or at the very least you could propose a couple of changes to an existing page to make sure the customer journey is still useful?

In this case at least you wouldn't have to wonder how the noindex affects the process. I have seen various individuals "recommend" making sure the URL being submitted is indexed in the case that a URL won't get approved on a GBP but I have never seen any Google documentation referencing it.

 

[daniowens]

Could you choose another already existing page that isn't ranking high but still has KWs that is indexed and still add your UTM (not a high ranking page as it was mentioned in the article that could negatively affect rankings also)?

Or at the very least you could propose a couple of changes to an existing page to make sure the customer journey is still useful?

In this case at least you wouldn't have to wonder how the noindex affects the process. I have seen various individuals "recommend" making sure the URL being submitted is indexed in the case that a URL won't get approved on a GBP but I have never seen any Google documentation referencing it.

Thanks for popping in. I like those ideas but they aren't options at the moment.

In regards to noindex pages in GBP, I have never seen any Google documentation referencing it either.

 

[fisicx]

You can link from your GBP to anywhere you want. This can for example be a pdf price list or an orphan page.

Google really doesn't care as your outbound links have no impact on ranking of your GBP.

 

[keyserholiday]

I wouldn't do it. I suspect it would tank the GBP rankings. You can link to their Facebook page or Yelp listing.

 

[daniowens]

You can link from your GBP to anywhere you want. This can for example be a pdf price list or an orphan page.

Google really doesn't care as your outbound links have no impact on ranking of your GBP.

Thanks for commenting. I appreciate your contribution.

I respectfully disagree that the outbound link chosen for GBP has no impact on GBP rankings: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/does-the...my-business-impact-ranking-in-the-local-pack/

 

[daniowens]

I wouldn't do it. I suspect it would tank the GBP rankings. You can link to their Facebook page or Yelp listing.

I like the social media link idea. This is a good option when you're limited.

I'm also worried about tanking the GBP rankings by adding a page that's not indexable.

Thanks Jason!

 

[Cuoreimpavido]

not a high ranking page as it was mentioned in the article that could negatively affect rankings also

I would love to hear more about it and what article you're referring to. How can a high ranking page be a bad thing?
Thanks!

Edit: sorry, I just read the article that OP was linking to in her original post. That is shocking!

 

[fisicx]

Thanks for commenting. I appreciate your contribution.

I respectfully disagree that the outbound link chosen for GBP has no impact on GBP rankings: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/does-the...my-business-impact-ranking-in-the-local-pack/

That article seems to indicate the ranking for local search is affected not the GBP.

A page that has the noindex tag just tells Google not to include that page in the index. It doesn't tell Google not to visit the page. For example. You may want to link to a booking page that is only applicable to GBP enquiries. You would therefore set the page to noindex as you don't want people to find the form via general searches.

 

[keyserholiday]

That article seems to indicate the ranking for local search is affected not the GBP.

A page that has the noindex tag just tells Google not to include that page in the index. It doesn't tell Google not to visit the page. For example. You may want to link to a booking page that is only applicable to GBP enquiries. You would therefore set the page to noindex as you don't want people to find the form via general searches.

The article points out that in some cases, if the URL ranks on page one, the GBP won't rank if it links to the same URL. The only way to rank for both is to change the GBP URL. If @daniowens links to a URL set as noindex or has been marked as non-indexed by Google, it should negatively impact the GBP rankings. One of the rankings factors for GBP rankings is how well optimized the URL is being linked to from GBP. For PPC you set the URL to noindex, I wouldn't do it for GBP.

 

[JoyHawkins]

If you link to a URL that Google doesn't have indexed, the edit likely won't stick. We actually see this a lot in the Google Business Profile Community where Google won't accept an edit to add a website on a GBP and the reason is because the site or page isn't indexed.

I agree with what Jason said as well - even if you do manage to get it published, the ranking of the GBP would probably be impacted negatively.

If you have a business that was impacted by the diversity update, try linking to the homepage if the location page is ranking highest organically or vice versa.

 

[JS Girard]

If you link to a URL that Google doesn't have indexed, the edit likely won't stick. We actually see this a lot in the Google Business Profile Community where Google won't accept an edit to add a website on a GBP and the reason is because the site or page isn't indexed.

Oh, I had no idea and wouldn't have thought of this, I will definitely add this to my check notes the next time we see google reject a client's url with no apparent reason!

 

[fisicx]

If you link to a URL that Google doesn't have indexed, the edit likely won't stick. We actually see this a lot in the Google Business Profile Community where Google won't accept an edit to add a website on a GBP and the reason is because the site or page isn't indexed.

That makes sense but it shouldn't.

Linking to no-index pages is standard practice and endorsed by Google. They even give examples of where it should be used.

The specification for the no-index tag says the header will be parsed and the page then dropped from the search results. Google does say the page must be crawlable (eg Googlebots are able to visit the page), all the tag does is remove the page from the search results.

So...

If google has indexed the site and the page is discoverable then there should be no issues linking to a no-index page.

But your experience suggests otherwise - Google isn't following their own rules.

 

[keyserholiday]

That makes sense but it shouldn't.

Linking to no-index pages is standard practice and endorsed by Google. They even give examples of where it should be used.

The specification for the no-index tag says the header will be parsed and the page then dropped from the search results. Google does say the page must be crawlable (eg Googlebots are able to visit the page), all the tag does is remove the page from the search results.

So...

If google has indexed the site and the page is discoverable then there should be no issues linking to a no-index page.

But your experience suggests otherwise - Google isn't following their own rules.

Again, you are confusing PPC and organic best practices.

 

[fisicx]

Again, you are confusing PPC and organic best practices.

Nope. My expertise is SEO and to a much lesser extent GBP.

Much of my time is spent researching Google documentation (and patents) to get a better understanding on how things work.