I recently got a reminder that a few domains – including this one – are about to expire. Thing is, I’m a serial domain buyer. I park one after another whenever an idea pops up (once it was about potatoes), because owning the URL is part of execution, right? (crickets)
A quick Google search led me to realize that my own personal domain isn’t being indexed, but my eight-year-old ArtConnect profile was ranking way up there instead.
So how do you remove unwanted pages you don’t own from Google search results? Turns out, cleaning up your personal SERPs is pretty straightforward using Google’s Remove Outdated Content tool.
Steps:
1. Delete the account related to the page you want removed, if applicable.
In my case, I first deleted my ArtConnect account which went into effect immediately (yay) but the 404 page lingered in the search results (boo).
2. Open the Remove Outdated Content tool.
3. Click on New Request.
4. Paste the URL to be removed, then click Submit.
5. You should get a “Your request has been submitted” message. Your can then monitor your request status by viewing the Removal requests section on the bottom of the page.