Google On Staging Sites & Preventing Accidental Indexing

The latest episode of Google’s Search Off The Record podcast discusses the challenges of launching websites and preventing staging sites from being indexed by search engines. Staging sites used for testing and development should ideally not be indexed, and Google highlights password protection as one method of preventing accidental indexing. Accidental Leaks & Importance Of DNS SetupMueller and Illyes discuss keeping staging sites hidden from search engines and share anecdotes of accidental leaks from Google’s past. Other Ways To Block Staging SitesIllyes explains that robots.txt is typically sufficient for blocking search engines from crawling staging sites. You could also utilize password protection or IP-allow lists for staging sites.