How can I remove spammy query parameter links using Rank Math SEO?

#984441
  • Resolved Dr Raghavendra

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Rank Math free

    I experienced a hack in January, and although I restored a clean backup, my site is still affected by spammy query parameters. Specifically, URLs like example.com/?d=10060214 are appearing as internal links, cluttering my site’s structure and potentially affecting my indexing. I’m using the Rank Math SEO plugin, and despite my efforts—removing these links from my content, updating robots.txt, and attempting to use Google Search Console’s removal tools—some major pages still show as “Crawled, not indexed.”

    Could someone advise on the best practices to completely remove or disallow these spammy URLs using Rank Math SEO? Additionally, any insights on resolving the “Crawled, not indexed” issue related to these unwanted query parameters would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you for your help!

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • RankBot

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hello,

    I apologize for the issue you are facing with spammy query parameter links on your site. Thank you for raising this concern.

    To effectively remove or disallow spammy query parameter links using Rank Math SEO, you can follow these steps:

    1. Noindex Search Results

    You can prevent search engines from indexing your search result pages, which may include these spammy query parameters. To do this:

    • Navigate to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta → Misc Pages in your WordPress dashboard.
    • Enable the Noindex Search Results option.
      No index search results to fix internal site search spam

    2. Edit Robots.txt

    Ensure that your robots.txt file does not allow crawling of these unwanted query parameters. You can edit your robots.txt file in Rank Math by going to WordPress Dashboard → Rank Math SEO → General Settings → Edit robots.txt. Make sure to add rules that disallow these parameters, for example:

    User-agent: *
Disallow: /*?d=

    This will block all URLs containing the ?d= parameter from being crawled.

    3. Canonical Tags

    If you have pages that are being duplicated due to these query parameters, consider adding canonical tags to point to the main version of the page. This helps search engines understand which version of the page should be indexed.

    4. Internal Linking Structure

    Make sure that your important pages have a good internal linking structure. You can set your important pages as pillar content and let Rank Math suggest relevant internal links to improve their visibility and indexing potential.

    5. Content Audit

    Conduct a content audit to identify any low-quality or duplicate content that may be affecting your site’s overall quality. Consider removing or redirecting such pages if they do not provide value.

    Resolving "Crawled, Not Indexed" Issue

    For the "Crawled, not indexed" issue, ensure that:

    • Your important pages have sufficient internal links pointing to them.
    • There are no quality issues with the content on those pages.
    • You are not blocking any important pages in your robots.txt file.

    Improving the overall quality of your site will help in getting those pages indexed over time. Google takes time to re-evaluate sites after changes are made, so patience is key.

    If you continue to experience issues, please reply to this ticket with your site URL so we can assist you further. We hope this information helps you resolve the issues you’re facing!

    Sources:
    Is Your Site the Victim of Internal Site Search Spam? » Rank Math
    Discovered – Currently Not Indexed in Google Search Console » Rank Math
    How to Fix "Crawled – Currently Not Indexed" Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math

    Reinelle

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hello,

    If the issue persists after following the steps we shared above, we recommend running a security scan on your site and checking if there is malware that is causing the issue.

    You can also get in touch with your web host for assistance.

    Here’s a great article on how to secure your WordPress website:
    https://mythemeshop.com/blog/wordpress-security-tips/

    Looking forward to helping you.

    RankBot

    4 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hello,

    Since we did not hear back from you for 15 days, we are assuming that you found the solution. We are closing this support ticket.

    If you still need assistance or any other help, please feel free to open a new support ticket, and we will be more than happy to assist.

    Thank you.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

The ticket ‘How can I remove spammy query parameter links using Rank Math SEO?’ is closed to new replies.