Google Search Console is updating the remove outdated content tool which allows site owners to request removal of URLs they don’t own.
Not to be confused with Search Console’s remove content tool, the remove outdated content tool is designed for entirely different use cases.
The remove content tool is designed for site owners to quickly remove their own pages from search results.
Whereas the remove outdated content tool is used to request deindexing of pages on other websites.
Anyone can send a request for outdated content to be removed from search results if, for example, the SERP shows content which is no longer present on a page.
That’s called an outdated cache removal. There’s also outdated page removals which are used in cases where the content no longer exists at all.
All request are subject to Google’s approval. Google will deny the request if there’s no reasonable grounds for removing the content from search results.
Now that we’re up to speed on the difference between the two similar tools, let’s take a look at what’s new.
Remove Outdated Content Tool: What Has Changed?
The updated remove outdated content tool has a refreshed interface which makes existing capabilities more intuitive to use.
Capabilities of the remove outdated content tool have not changed, which means SEOs and site owners are not losing any functionality.
Here’s an example of the old interface compared to the new interface.
Old interface
New interfaceAs you can see, Google updated the look and feel of the tool to be more consistent with the new Search Console interface.
It’s also better optimized for mobile devices, should you find yourself wanting to remove outdated content while on the go.
There’s a notice at the top of the screen of the old version, which is still accessible, indicating it will not be available after January 19, 2021.
That date will be here soon enough, so update your bookmarks to point to the new remove outdated content tool.
For more information, see the official Google support page here.
