Ensure Robots Meta Not Blocking Indexing

Task Library

Verify no robots meta tag, header, or WordPress setting is silently telling Google not to index the site.

Category: Digital Plumbing, Website QA Audit

Use this when a site or page won't appear in Google, after any migration/redesign (staging noindex settings love to ship to production), or as a standard takeover check.

Inputs

  • WordPress admin access (Settings and SEO plugin)
  • Google Search Console access for the verified property
  • List of money pages to spot-check: homepage, top service page, a recent post

Steps

  1. Check the kill switch first: WordPress Settings → Reading → "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" must be unchecked. This single box has buried entire businesses post-launch.
  2. View source on the homepage and each money page: search for meta name="robots". Any noindex or nofollow there must be deliberate – on money pages it never is.
  3. Check the SEO plugin (Rank Math) per-page robots settings and sitewide defaults for accidental noindex on pages, posts, or key archives.
  4. Check HTTP responses for an X-Robots-Tag: noindex header (host- or plugin-injected) on the same pages.
  5. Confirm robots.txt isn't disallowing the whole site or key directories (see the sitemap skill for the full robots.txt pass).
  6. Run GSC URL Inspection on the homepage, a service page, and a post: each should report indexing allowed. Fix anything that doesn't, then Request Indexing.
  7. Document what you found and fixed – a reverted noindex is worth a Knowledge Capture Note so it never recurs.

Definition of done (QA checklist)

  • "Discourage search engines" is unchecked in WordPress Reading settings
  • No unintended noindex/nofollow in meta robots or X-Robots-Tag on homepage, service pages, or posts
  • GSC URL Inspection reports "Indexing allowed" on all spot-checked pages
  • Any deliberate noindex (thank-you pages, internal search) documented as intentional
  • Linked back to the definitive article and relevant siblings
  • Complies with Blog Posting Guidelines (if it publishes content)

Example(s)

  • Example needed – run the Meta-Article Prompt after first real run.

File in the zip: skills/digital-plumbing/ensure-robots-meta-not-blocking-indexing.md. Download the Task Library zip.

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