Google De-Indexing Millions of Pages: What’s Happening?

About this Video

• Video Title: Google De-Indexing Millions of Pages: What’s Happening?
• Channel: Edward Sturm
• Speakers: Edward Sturm
• Duration: 00:16:33

Introduction

This video discusses a widespread report among SEOs and webmasters that Google is de-indexing a significant number of web pages. The speaker explores various theories behind this phenomenon, examines user reports and examples, and offers advice on how to check for and potentially address de-indexed pages on one's own website.

Key Takeaways

• Widespread De-indexing Reports: Many SEOs are reporting that Google has removed numerous pages from its search index, starting around May 20th, 2025.
• Potential Causes: Several theories are explored, including Google removing low-traffic, low-relevance, or poorly-linked pages; Google's algorithm changes impacting topical authority; and the removal of backlinks from other sites.
• Checking for De-indexed Pages: The speaker advises using Google Search Console to identify any de-indexed pages on a website.
• Recovering De-indexed Pages: Strategies to potentially recover de-indexed pages include updating content, improving internal linking, and focusing on topical authority. The speaker emphasizes that many de-indexed pages were low-quality or irrelevant, and in some cases, traffic has even increased after de-indexing.
• Unrelated Content: The speaker highlights Google's John Mueller's statement that unrelated content on a site might be a factor in de-indexing and ranking drops.