google - removing old php pages

replaced .php with .html, 6wks later php pages still in googles index

[mameha1977]

I have 700 old php pages still in googles index. I replaced them with html pages 6 weeks ago and used 301 redirects, but it is taking forever for those pages to drop out of the index. Last monday there were 800, this week still 700.

Question: Should I make a sitemap of all the old php pages? This in theory would make google visit the pages, see the 301, and drop them all... Would that work?

I have a major headache now because google is putting my html pages in the supplemental index because it still has the old php pages in the index.

I cant use the remove URL tool because it doesnt recognise the *.php operator (even though googlebot does!).

[edited by: tedster at 2:46 am (utc) on Mar. 5, 2007]