Possible Bug May Drop Your Whole Site With Google's URL Removal Tool

Feb 7, 2014 - 8:34 am 3 by

Google 404 ErrorA webmaster posted an issue in the Google Webmaster Help forums with the Google URL Removal tool.

In short, the site he is working on was hacked. He is using the tool to manually remove the hacked pages from Google, one by one. But for some reason, one of the URLs he entered triggered not just one page to be removed but all.

He asked:

Why on earth would the Google Webmaster Tool developers think that url parameters were irrelevant, and how do we get this fixed?

Here is a screen shot:

click for full size

John Mueller from Google responded in the thread saying:

Thanks for reporting this, Michael (and thanks for escalating, Grace!). I'll check with the engineering team to see what's happening here. It's great to see you help clean up this kind of hacked content!

It might be the configuration of the hack, confusing Google? I am unsure.

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: September 17, 2025

Sep 17, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google

Google Discover Tests Showing X Posts From Just Your Followers?

Sep 17, 2025 - 7:51 am
Other Search Engines

OpenAI Updates Search In ChatGPT: Factuality, Shopping & Formatting

Sep 17, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google: Searchers Want AI Summaries Over Links

Sep 17, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

Google Business API Q&A Feature Going Away November 3 (Changes Coming?)

Sep 17, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Ads

New Google Merchant Center Suspension Video Verification

Sep 17, 2025 - 7:11 am
 
Previous Story: Check Google To See If Your Name Triggers SafeSearch Before You Go With It