Help! I have deleted a page, post, image or blog but it still appears in Google blog searches.
How can I get Google to remove my deleted file (page or image) from their cache?
The URL Removal Tool
If you have deleted a web page or an image and it has been removed from the server and, the URL returns a 404 page not found error, then you can request Google to remove the page from their indexed cache. Remember the URL of the page to be removed must return a 404 error otherwise this tool will not work.
Use the URL removal tool to request that information be removed from Google Web Search and Image Search results. You can use this tool to request the following types of removals:
- Remove outdated or missing webpages.
- Remove information or images.
- Report inappropriate content appearing in SafeSearch filtered results.
Google will investigate and provide an update on the status of your request as soon as possible. Removals that are processed through this tool are excluded form Google search results for six months.
Blogging tips
- Locate the URL of the page you’d be like to be removed from Google’s search results.
- Verify that the URL returns a 404 – not found error message.
- If you don’t already have one, then set up a Google account and a Webmaster Tools account.
- Sign into your Google account and go to this URL and follow the instructions – Removing my own content from Google. See also How do I use the webpage removal request tool?
Related posts:
Matt Cutt’s Whitehat SEO Tips for Bloggers: WordCamp 2007
How to structure a reader and search engine friendly blog
WordPress: How to Maintain and Track Links
Improving your Google Page Rank
Technorati: The Six Month Link Window
How to: Google site verification
Promote Your Blog: Increase Traffic
WordPress.com Beginner’s Guide



















higienismo
March 21, 2008
hi, timethief! it’s has nothing to do with this particular topic (sorry :x), I’m just passing by to thank you for the help about my domain mapping issue! ppl at the forum adviced me to do the same as you told me, and it worked perfectly! :)
timethief
March 21, 2008
YAY! I’m so glad I was able to help and that you have it sorted out now. Thanks for stopping by to say how it all turned out. Happy blogging!
Teck
March 21, 2008
Thank you timethief for posting this article and also for all the other great info on this blog :)
timethief
March 21, 2008
You’re welcome Teck. Right now I’m working on updating and integrating my notes into the resources page. It’s a huge job but I’m glad to share. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for me to have a “private” library, besides which, I like helping people. I makes me feel happy. :-)
Teck
March 21, 2008
Your welcome timethief,and I will be on the look out for your updated resource page.
Keep up the great work your doing here on “One Cool Site” :)
Teck
March 21, 2008
Also I will be adding you back to the blog roll when i’m done updating it the logo’s made the page load slow so i’m improving the page with more info about each site
mozey
April 15, 2008
NICE!, i was wondering how you can do that, :)
thanks for the info.
timethief
April 15, 2008
I have done this myself and it worked well. Thanks for saying thanks and happy blogging to you. :)
Coco
July 19, 2008
How long does it take for the post to actually be deleted from the reader cache…My status still show it’s pending and I’m so scared this infomation may be viewed in google reader by some bloggers.
Thanks for the help timethief. this was helpful but I hope it is removed ASAP.
timethief
July 19, 2008
The 404′s (page not found) that I have removed using this method were gone within days of my request for deletion.
Elizabeth
December 22, 2009
Does Google webmaster tools work for deleting blog posts\comments from Google Reader? Or only Google search engine results?
timethief
December 22, 2009
@Elizabeth
I cannot find any references to Google reader. Here’s another link that may be helpful.
bill
February 14, 2010
Sir i have a website and i want that google cache should delete a webpage of some other site.The thing is there is a forum which is fake & some guys have posted wrong and fake statements on a web-forum “consumercomplaints.in”.Is it possible ? please help me asap.
bill jason
timethief
February 15, 2010
I can’t help you with this. If the page is a “404″ (page not found) you can proceed and use the URL Removal Tool as outlined above and if not you can’t.
Longshot
May 13, 2010
how do you get the 404
Mine comes up as Sorry, the page you are looking for does not exist
But there isn’t 404 attached to it. I can’t even find how to open a webmaster tools account. I do have a goggle account.
I have requested a blog that was deleted under 2 hours of being posted 5 times now. With webmaster removal tool. I have tried to put cache URL in, somebody suggested to just put the URL link that leads to the page that say’s Sorry, the page you are looking for does not exist.
All keep coming back as DENIED. With some idiotic statement that the cache page already has been deleted, WHEN IT HASN’T.
It has not been deleted. You can google 3 names that were a part of that blog and the CACHE part is still underneath link and when clicked onto BRINGS THE WHOLE DAMN PAGE UP.
Though it has been deleted from blog as soon as I realized it was posted.
I have no idea how to apply meta things, robot things or whatever to my WordPress Blog. I have read and read but I do not understand how to do this.
All I know is that webmaster removal tool keeps saying DENIED to every new request. I tried everything.
Again how can you get this 404 to appear??? Blog Deleted and long gone, Cache page remains to be clicked on and brought up on google search.
I even e-mailed WordPress for help but they said I do own my site. So on webmaster removal tool it states:
If you own the site
1.Verify your ownership of the site in Webmaster Tools.
2.On the Webmaster Tools home page, click the site you want.
3.On the Dashboard, click Site configuration in the left-hand navigation.
4.Click Crawler access, and then click Remove URL.
5.Click New removal request.
6.Type the URL of the page you want removed from search results (not the Google search results URL or cached page URL), and then click Continue. How to find the right URL. Note that the URL is case-sensitive—you will need to submit the URL using exactly the same characters and the same capitalization that the site uses.
7.Click Remove page from search results and cache.
8.Select the checkbox to confirm that you have completed the requirements listed in this article, and then click Submit Request.
I can’t even find the HOME PAGE they are talking about. Went to WORDPRESS thinking I’d find these links, but no go here. I cannot get to webmaster removal DASHBOARD at all.
So still cannot figure any of this out. I did every detail you’ve said to do, still getting denied and cache page I don’t want to exist still remains.
All of this is being done as a favor to somebody else. But now it has became personal because I cannot get google to honor my request to REMOVE cache page, or REMOVE the word CACHE underneath link that leads to nothing. So it can’t bring up the page as it was written.
Very very frustrating.
Any furthur suggestions would be appreciated to accomplish this Cache removal and any suggestion how to apply what needs to be applied to Blogs that this never happens again.
I own a computer but certainly do not know even a fraction of it’s technology.
Longshot
May 14, 2010
OK
I did find Webmaster removal tool home page and Dashboard.
Did get my blog-site VERIFIED. Then followed Webmaster removal tool ” If you own site ”
steps one by one. Still never got 404, they said make sure blog URL has been blocked as in DELETED. Which was already done a week ago. Unless this isn’t getting it blocked???
Hell what does? It’s deleted???
Then made a NEW removal Request as they said to do and AGAIN it was DENIED.
They stated use URL as the blog was??? Now this didn’t make sense since IT WAS DELETED. There is no URL of it anymore. So I used one that comes up on google search. They said don’t use CACHE one and I didn’t. I clicked onto the link that goes to the page that say’s Sorry, the page you are looking for does not exist. Right clicked top URL link as they said to do.
All this and 7 requests 7 Denied. Their directions and no results.
Infuriating. And still don’t know how to bring up 404 error-not found message. Only Sorry, the page you are looking for does not exist message comes up on deleted page.
The people that want this removed are not worth this aggravation. And Google as far as I’m concerned are jokes.
timethief
May 14, 2010
That’s a frustrating tale, for sure. I’m so sorry you went through this. As you have have been to both Staff and to Google (7 times!) there’s no further help I can give you. You have done all you can do and have reached a dead end.
welbeckconsulting
June 10, 2010
Hi Time thief,
Hope you can still help on this. I’m just experimenting with doing this. I’ve deleted pages and content but when logged out there is still some kind of front page with guff rather than a 404 not found message. So question one is just to clarify again how best to create a 404 or 410 return for a wordpress.com page?
Second question is whether you have to submit every wordpress.com page url of the blog you want removed from appearing in search results to google url removal.
Many thanks
welbeckconsulting
June 10, 2010
ok, think i solved Q1 with a change of theme. Now get a ‘not found’ message.