---
title: "Set Indexing Rules (No Index / No Follow / No Archive)"
url: https://nexterwp.com/docs/robots-instructions/
date: 2026-07-17
modified: 2026-07-17
author: "Aditya Sharma"
description: "Robots Instructions is a simple matrix for telling search engines how to treat each type of content on your site. Instead of editing pages one at a time, you set..."
word_count: 549
---

# Set Indexing Rules (No Index / No Follow / No Archive)

Robots Instructions is a simple matrix for telling search engines how to treat each type of content on your site. Instead of editing pages one at a time, you set robots meta directives in bulk per post type, taxonomy, and archive. This is how you keep thin or duplicate pages out of search results without touching a line of code.

Nexter → Content SEO → Technical → Robots Instructions.

 

## How To Set Indexing Rules In Nexter SEO?

- Open **Technical** in the left-hand nav and click **Robots Instructions**.

- Pick a scope tab: **Post Types**, **Taxonomies**, or **Archives**.

- For each row, tick the directives you want applied — **No Index**, **No Follow**, or **No Archive**.

- Click **Save**.

![Nexter SEO Robots Instructions matrix with No Index, No Follow, and No Archive columns across Post Types, Taxonomies, and Archives tabs](https://nexterwp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/nseo-10-robots-instructions.gif)

 

### What Each Directive Means

- **No Index** — tells search engines to keep the page *out of search results* entirely. Use it for content that shouldn't rank: internal utility pages, thin archives, duplicate listings.

- **No Follow** — tells search engines *not to pass link equity* through the links on that page. The page can still be indexed; its outbound links just don't count as endorsements.

- **No Archive** — tells search engines *not to store a cached copy* of the page. Visitors won't see a "cached" version in results. The page can still rank normally.

These are independent. You can apply any combination. The most common real-world setting is **No Index** on its own for a content type you want to hide from search.

The screen is a table: one row per content type, one checkbox column per directive (**No Index · No Follow · No Archive**), each column header carrying an info tooltip. The rows change with the tab you select.

 

### Post Types Tab

- **Post**

- **Page**

- **Media**

- **Theme Builder**

- **Product** (appears when WooCommerce is active)

 

### Taxonomies Tab

- **Category**

- **Tag**

- **Format**

- **Brands**, **Product categories**, **Product tags**, **Product shipping classes** (appear when WooCommerce is active)

 

### Archives Tab

Applies robots directives to archive-type pages (such as author and date archives). Tick the directives per archive row, then Save.

Each tab has its own **Save** button, so save before you switch tabs.

 

#### Good To Know

- **No Index vs. disabling an archive are different tools.** Robots Instructions hides a page from search but keeps it live for visitors. If you want to switch an archive off entirely (or redirect it), use [Archive Pages SEO](/docs/archive-pages-seo/) instead.

- Applying **No Index** to Media is a common cleanup step — attachment pages rarely deserve to rank. Pair it with the attachment redirect in [Image SEO](/docs/image-seo/).

- Directives are scoped by tab. A directive set on the Post Types tab does not carry over to Taxonomies or Archives; set each scope independently.

 

#### Troubleshooting

- **A No Index page is still in Google.** Robots directives only take effect the next time Google recrawls the page, and it must be able to *reach* the page to see the noindex tag. Don't also block the URL in robots.txt, or Google can't read the noindex directive. Request reindexing in Search Console to speed things up.

- **My change didn't apply.** Confirm you saved on the correct tab. Each of Post Types, Taxonomies, and Archives saves separately.

**Related:** [Robots.txt Editor](/docs/robots-txt-editor/) · [Archive Pages SEO](/docs/archive-pages-seo/) · [Image SEO](/docs/image-seo/) · [XML Sitemaps](/docs/xml-sitemaps/)

 

[Explore Nexter Extension](https://nexterwp.com/nexter-extension/)

 

This is how you can set indexing rules with Nexter SEO.