How to manage noindex and nofollow in WordPress?

@aniyah.green 

Managing noindex and nofollow attributes in WordPress involves adjusting settings either through plugins or by manually editing your theme. Here's how you can do it:

Using Plugins

1. Yoast SEO: Install and activate the Yoast SEO plugin. Go to the Yoast SEO meta box at the bottom of any page or post you wish to modify. For noindex, go to the "Advanced" tab and set "Allow search engines to show this Post in search results?" to "No." For nofollow, you can also manage outbound links by checking the "Mark this link as nofollow" box when adding or editing a link in the WordPress editor. Globally, visit SEO > Search Appearance and adjust settings for specific post types, taxonomies, and archives.
2. Rank Math: Install and activate the Rank Math SEO plugin. Visit the Rank Math meta box under any post or page. Use the "Advanced" tab to set noindex and nofollow settings for individual posts/pages. Navigate to Rank Math > Titles & Meta to set global noindex and nofollow rules.
3. All in One SEO Pack: Install and activate the All in One SEO Pack plugin. Edit any post or page, and scroll to the AIOSEO Settings. Check the options for noindex and nofollow as needed. To set global settings, visit All in One SEO > Search Appearance.

Manual Method

1. Editing Header or Function Files: If you're familiar with PHP, you can manually add noindex and nofollow tags in your theme's header or functions.php file. To noindex a post or page, add the following in your theme's header.php or using wp_head(): if (is_page('your-page-slug')) { echo ''; } For links without a plugin, you can manually add rel="nofollow" to your HTML links in the editor: Example

Considerations

• Always back up your site before making significant changes, especially when editing theme files.
• Use noindex to prevent search engines from indexing a page, and nofollow to instruct them not to follow specific links.
• Ensure that your noindex/nofollow strategy aligns with your SEO goals to avoid inadvertently hiding important content from search engines.

Plugins offer more flexibility and options, especially for those unfamiliar with code. They also help manage settings on a more granular level without extensive technical knowledge.