Google URL Removal Tool

[jlander]

Hello,

Quick question. I wish to use the google URL removal tool for a URL similar to this:

[mysite.com...]

and if I submit this, will it only remove this SPECIFIC url, or will it also remove these?

[mysite.com...]
and
[mysite.com...]
?

Recently, my homepage was dropped from the index and replaced with one similar to the one above. This is my first affiliate who is actually linking to my site. Does anyone know why this happened?

I've already added code that will place the NOINDEX metatag on any page with an affiliate ID so this won't happen again? Any other ideas?

[lammert]

The noindex should be enough. Depening in the frequency your site is spidered, the affiliate URL should be gone in about a month. Using the URL removal tool is quicker, but has some undesirable side effects [webmasterworld.com].

[jlander]

Thank you for refferring me to that post, but I'd be nice to know how URLs with dynamic content are handled by the removal tool.

[Wizard]

This tool treats urls beginning with www and non-www as the same, but urls with different QUERY_STRING arguments are treated as separate - I had to remove each one separately.

One of the side effects is that removed urls tend to reappear after 90/180 days and you have to remove them again.

Why do you need PARTNER= argument? Couldn't you track the click from affiliate by HTTP_REFERER variable?

[jlander]

That is the way that my shopping cart was written. I think I've solved the problem by adding these lines to the pages affected:

<%
IF Request.QueryString("PARTNER") <> "" THEN
Response.Write("<meta name=""robots"" content=""NOINDEX"">")
END IF
%>

What do you think?

[SuddenlySara]

I'll make sure I don't sign up for your affiliate program ;-)

[jlander]

Sara,

That's fine, but this little problem doesn't affect the affiliate link at all. My affiliate will still get full credit for the sale, only google will hopefully not index his homepage link over mine.

I really don't understand why this new link has caused so many problems for me. I have definately been penalized for something, and when his link showed up in the SERPS, my homepage was dropped out all-together.