‘noindex’ Detected in X-Robots-Tag HTTP Header – Reviewing Rank Math Settings

#1073553
  • Resolved Agustin Angel Astorga

    2 months ago

    Rank Math free

    Hello Rank Math Support Team,

    I am receiving a “No: ‘noindex’ detected in ‘X-Robots-Tag’ http header” error in Google Search Console for some of my pages and sitemap files on libramiser.com.

    This is preventing Google from indexing my content.

    My website uses Hostinger for hosting and quic.cloud as the CDN. I rely on Rank Math for my SEO.

    I am trying to identify the source of this noindex directive.

    While I’ve checked some basic settings, I would appreciate your expert guidance to ensure Rank Math is not inadvertently adding this X-Robots-Tag: noindex header.

    Could you please guide me on where to thoroughly check within Rank Math’s settings (e.g., Global Meta, Titles & Meta for specific post types, Advanced settings, or sitemap settings) to confirm that no noindex directives are active for my:

    Post types (especially blog posts)

    Individual pages

    Sitemap files (e.g., sitemap_index.xml or post-sitemap.xml)

    If there’s any specific setting or conflict that could cause this, please point me to it.

    Or if you can do it for me, can you fix the problem for me?

    I want to ensure Rank Math is configured correctly to allow indexing.

    In addition, when i check the /post-sitemap.xml status, it says “Couldnt fetch”. But for /category-sitemap.xml and /page-sitemap.xml it says “Success”.

    Thank you for your help!

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

    2 months ago

    Hello,

    We apologize for the issue you are facing with the "noindex" directive in the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header. Thank you for providing detailed information about your setup and the specific error you’re encountering.

    To troubleshoot this issue, please follow these steps to check your Rank Math settings:

    1. Check Global Meta Settings

    • Go to WordPress Dashboard → Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta.
    • Ensure that the Global Meta settings do not have the noindex option enabled for posts, pages, or any custom post types.

    2. Check Individual Post/Page Settings

    • Open the specific post or page in the WordPress Editor.
    • In the Gutenberg Editor, click the Rank Math SEO icon in the top-right corner to access the Rank Math Metabox. For Classic Editor, scroll down to find the Rank Math Metabox.
    • Navigate to the Advanced Tab and ensure that the Robots Meta is set to Index.

    Rank Math Meta Box

    3. Check Sitemap Settings

    • Go to WordPress Dashboard → Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings.
    • Ensure that your sitemap settings are configured correctly and that no post types are set to noindex.

    4. Check for Conflicts

    • Sometimes, server settings or other plugins can add X-Robots-Tag headers. You may want to check your server configuration or any caching plugins that might be affecting this.
    • Since you are using Hostinger and quic.cloud as a CDN, ensure that there are no settings in those services that might be adding a noindex directive.

    5. Resubmit Your Sitemap

    • After making any necessary changes, resubmit your sitemap in Google Search Console. You can refer to our tutorial on how to submit your sitemap to Google.

    If you continue to experience issues or if you would like us to assist you further, we recommend considering our professional setup service for a comprehensive review of your Rank Math configuration. This service requires a PRO subscription and ensures that your plugin setup adheres to the latest SEO standards.

    Regarding the "Couldn’t fetch" status for your /post-sitemap.xml, this could be related to the noindex issue or a server response problem. Once you resolve the noindex directive, check if the sitemap fetches successfully.

    Please reply to this ticket if you need further assistance or if you have any additional questions. We’re here to help!

    Sources:
    How to Fix Submitted URL Marked ‘NoIndex’ Error » Rank Math
    Fix Excluded by NoIndex Tag – Google Search Console Status » Rank Math
    Why Google Hasn’t Indexed Your Post, Page, and/or Website? » Rank Math

    Jeremy

    2 months ago

    Hello,

    Thank you for contacting Rank Math Support and bringing your concern to our attention. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this issue may have caused you.

    If you’re inspecting your sitemap URL in your Google Search Console, then it is normal because, by default, sitemaps are set to Noindex as they are meant to be crawled and not to be displayed on search results pages.

    You should only submit your sitemap to the sitemap section of your GSC account and shouldn’t use the URL inspection tool for the sitemap URLs.
    https://rankmath.com/kb/submit-sitemap-to-google/

    Also, for this “post-sitemap.xml status, it says “Couldnt fetch” error please try below steps:

    1. Flush the Sitemap cache by following this video screencast:
    https://i.rankmath.com/pipRDp

    2. Exclude the Sitemap files of the Rank Math plugin in your caching plugin. The cache could be via a plugin or from the server. For plugins or Cloudflare, please follow this article:
    https://rankmath.com/kb/exclude-sitemaps-from-caching/

    Once done, clear your website cache, remove all the submitted sitemaps, and resubmit only the /sitemap_index.xml in the Search Console.

    If the issue persists, please try to follow this guideline for further troubleshooting: https://rankmath.com/kb/couldnt-fetch-error-google-search-console/

    Let us know how it goes. Looking forward to helping you.

    RankBot

    1 month 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 ‘‘noindex’ Detected in X-Robots-Tag HTTP Header – Reviewing Rank Math Settings’ is closed to new replies.