Need to de-index certain pages fast

[WebGain]

I need to de-index certain pages as fast as possible. These pages are already indexed. What is the fastest way to do this?

I have added the noindex meta tag and run a few of the pages through Search Console/Webmaster tools (fetch as google) earlier today, however nothing has changed yet. The 'fetch as google' services do see the noindex tag, but it haven't changed the SERPs yet. I now I should be patient, but if there is a faster way to get Google to de-index these pages, I want to try that.

I am considering the removal tool also, but I'm unsure if that is risky to do. And even if it's not, I can understand it's not a permanent solution anyway.

What to do?

[MattAntonino]

I would use the removal tool if you need to get something immediately deindexed as long as you don't need to bring it back.

Otherwise, you could always 301 redirect that indexed page to another page that you either create or already exists. Redirecting it will make sure nobody can land on it while it IS indexed at least?

It really depends why you want to remove but I'd use those two methods depending on the circumstance.

[WebGain]

For now the pages has been stripped from content, so it's not terrible if someone access them. But I still need them to be de-indexed as quick as possible. They should never have been indexed in the first place, but I think they were accidentally included in the xml sitemaps.

You propose using the removal tool if I want to remove them permanently, however in Google Search it clearly says that it's only for removing pages temporarily.

[MattAntonino]

Yes, but as you've blocked them now they won't (shouldn't) get reindexed. So you've already taken care of permanently. Using the tool will remove them now and then you've done the rest.