Google Can & Does Drop URLs From Its Index Over Time

Aug 18, 2022 - 7:21 am 3 by

Google Url Disappear

Most SEOs that have been doing the search engine optimization thing for any amount of time know that Google can and likely will drop out URLs from the Google index. John Mueller from Google confirmed that this happens with Google Search on Twitter the other day.

John wrote "It doesn't really matter what happened, but yes, any URL can drop out of the index over time."

Even URLs that you deem important or one of the most prominent sections of your site can happen to see that URL drop out of Google Search.

The trick is to make sure to have the URL prominently linked to throughout the site's navigation and from other popular pages on your site. Google still may decide not to index the page later on, but you need to keep that URL relevant, unique and helpful for Google to still want to index and also rank the page.

Here is John's tweet in context:

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: June 19, 2026

Jun 19, 2026 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Volatility, Bing AI Reporting Updates, UK Orders Google To Hand Over Its Search Ranking Algorithm & More

Jun 19, 2026 - 8:01 am
Bing Search

Bing Tests Updated News Design In Search

Jun 19, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Speaks On Chunking, Site Signals, Content, Paywalls & AI Clicks

Jun 19, 2026 - 7:41 am
Bing Search

Bing Tests Color Options In Product Results

Jun 19, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Turning On Conversion-Based Customer Lists For Advertisers

Jun 19, 2026 - 7:21 am
 
Previous Story: Google AdSense Does Not Help Your Site Rank Better In Google