To remove or not remove a redirected page from index

[seoelevated]

We have a promotion landing page which earned some valuable inbound links. Now that the promotion is over, we have redirected this page to a current "evergreen" page. But in the search results page on Google, the original promotion landing page is still showing as a top result. When clicked, it properly redirects to the newer evergreen page. But, it's a bit problematic for the original promo page to show in the search results because the snippet mentions specifics of the promo which is no longer active. So, I'm wondering what would be the net impact of using the "removal request " tool for the original page in GSC.

If we don't use that tool, what kind of timing might we expect before the original page drops out of the results in favor of the new redirected page?

And if we do use the removal tool on the original page, will that negate what we are attempting to do by redirecting to the new page, with regard to preserving inbound link equity?

[BartonInteractive]

Hi there,

In GSC, are you aware that there is a "Clear Cached URL" option in Removals, that allows one to "Keep URL(s) in Google Search results, just clear current snippet and cached version until the next crawl."? Here is more information, just in case it's helpful:

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9689846#clear_cache_request (You may already be aware of this)

While I don't know for sure, I would merit a guess that changing the snippet's title and description would certainly change the clickthrough on it, and possibly alter the positioning as well if it has changed enough between other ranking factors.

Does this help at all?

Best,
Zack

[seoelevated]

Thanks Zack. That option is a bit hidden, and I hadn't noticed it. I'm trying now to see what happens with just clearing cached URL until the next recrawl might do. I'm kind of curious what it will do with the page title, which also currently has details about the offer.

[BartonInteractive]

My pleasure. I agree, and honestly think it may be a newer feature in GSC, as I just noticed it for one of our client's needs today, and thought of your open question.  Hope to hear how this goes -- no pressure of course.

-Zack

[seoelevated]

Zack,

All is good with this now. Here's how it actually went:

On January 6, I used GSC to request the cache be removed

On January 7, the page still showed for keyword searches, with the page title, but without any snippet.

On January 7 I requested a re-index.

From January 7-10, the page still showed in search results with only a title

On January 11, the redirected page finally shows in the keyword search results, instead of the original page (desired end result).

So, in summary, it was fairly quick (4-5 days), and in the end the redirected page took the place of the original page, and in the interim the original page showed up with its title but with no snippet.

[BartonInteractive]

Thanks so much for the update on this. So, so glad to hear that this was straightened out. Also good to know that it wasn't a linear / logical route on Google's part, and that it took 4-5 days. (Some people on the forum expect an immediate turnaround on this, I've noticed.)

Have a great day,
Zack

[JOkoiue]

I am having the same issue, but thanks to the staff my issue got resolved.