How do I remove outdated content from Google Search?

If Google still shows a page that has since been deleted, or a snippet quoting text that is no longer on the page, file a request with Google's Refresh Outdated Content tool. You don't need to own the site; you only need to be signed in to a Google account. The request succeeds only when the change is already live: the page must be gone, or the quoted words must have disappeared from it.

When the tool works and when it doesn't

The tool covers one situation: Google's result is older than the page. Google's help page for the tool splits that into two cases:

• The page or image no longer exists. The URL now returns an error such as 404 or 410, so the result should drop out.
• The page exists but has changed significantly. Text that appeared in the snippet has since been taken off the live page, so the snippet should be refreshed.

It is the wrong tool when the information is still on the live page, when you only want Google to recrawl something, or when your complaint is that the content is false, harmful or illegal. A request about a page that hasn't changed is refused.

Filing a request, step by step

1. Check the live page first. Open the URL in a private window and confirm it returns an error or no longer contains the words you want gone.
2. In Google Search, right-click the outdated result and copy the link address. Don't retype the URL or take it from the address bar: the request has to match the result exactly, capital letters included.
3. Open the tool, paste the URL and submit it.
4. If the page still exists, Google asks for one or two words that appeared in the old snippet but are missing from the current page. Pick words that are clearly gone.
5. Look for other addresses showing the same content, such as versions with tracking parameters or session IDs, and file a request for each one.

For an outdated image, each request needs the image URL and the URL of the page that contains it, and every page showing the image needs its own request.

What the request statuses mean

Once approved, a deleted page stops appearing. For a changed page, Google removes the old snippet, and the page is refreshed properly the next time Google crawls it.

If you own the site

Verified owners have better tools. To hide a URL quickly, file a temporary removal in the Removals report, which lasts about six months, then make it permanent with a 404 or 410, a password, or a noindex rule (removing a URL covers the order). If you edited the page and want the new version picked up, request indexing from the URL Inspection tool.

Requests that other people file about your pages appear on the Outdated content tab of the Removals report, which keeps current requests and those that expired in the past six months. Google's Removals help explains each tab.

How AutoPSEO helps

Add the URL to the Index Tracker. It inspects tracked URLs every day through the URL Inspection API, keeps each result, and can post an alert to Slack, Teams or a webhook when a URL moves between indexed and not indexed. You find out when Google has really dropped a deleted page without checking by hand.