How and why to Hide a Website Page vs. De-indexing It from Search Engines

What Does It Mean to Hide a Website Page?

Hiding a website page means making it invisible or inaccessible to certain users without necessarily removing it from your site. This technique is commonly used for landing pages, thank-you pages, and legal information like privacy policies or terms of use. The page still exists but won’t be visible in certain contexts—such as when browsing your site’s navigation.

For example, you might want to hide a landing page for an ad campaign by removing the top navigation. This keeps visitors focused on the call-to-action without the distraction of clicking elsewhere. It’s a great way to ensure your ad spend translates into conversions, rather than casual browsing.

When Should You Hide a Page?

• Ad landing pages: Remove navigation to keep visitors focused on the offer.
• Thank-you pages: Ensure customers are led here after form submissions without making it a general part of your website.
• Privacy and Terms pages: Keep these visible when needed but hidden from regular site navigation for a cleaner user experience.

Hiding a page keeps your website tidy while ensuring users still interact with critical content when needed.

Watch how we do it in our client websites and our own in seconds!



What Is De-indexing a Page?

De-indexing a page is a completely different strategy that tells search engines like Google to remove a page from their index, meaning it won’t show up in search results. This technique is crucial for pages that either:

• Are no longer relevant.
• Contain duplicate content.
• Serve specific functions but aren’t meant for public consumption.

Unlike hiding a page, de-indexing ensures that search engines won’t even know the page exists—effectively making it invisible to anyone searching the web.

Why Would You De-index a Page?

• To avoid duplicate content penalties: If your site has multiple pages with similar content, de-indexing the less important ones can help preserve your SEO rankings.
• To clean up old, irrelevant content: Sometimes, you need to remove outdated or irrelevant pages that no longer serve your business. De-indexing prevents search engines from showcasing these pages.
• To keep certain information private: Internal documents, temporary promotions, or campaign pages that aren’t meant to be public should be de-indexed.



By de-indexing, you’re controlling which pages are searchable, giving you better control over your site’s online presence.

Here's how we do it for our website and our client's websites in seconds!

Hiding Paid Ads Pages

When running an ad campaign, it’s essential to keep visitors focused. One way to do this is by hiding the top navigation on your landing pages. This means that visitors who click on your ad won’t be tempted to explore the rest of your site—they’re there for one reason: to take action.

By removing distractions like the header and footer, you’re essentially guiding them toward conversion—whether that’s signing up for a service, booking an appointment, or purchasing a product.

At Talents Into Profits, we believe in maximizing your ad budget by ensuring that every click counts. Hiding your landing pages from general navigation while keeping them live for ads is an excellent strategy for boosting conversions.

Hiding a Thank-you Page After Form Submissions

Another common practice is hiding your thank-you pages after a user fills out a form. This ensures that customers are led to a specific page, acknowledging their submission, without these pages being discoverable via search engines or regular site navigation.

Thank-you pages are vital for keeping the user experience smooth, confirming that their submission was received. However, you don’t want these pages cluttering up your site or showing up in search results.

Example Use Cases:

• Lead generation forms for home service businesses.
• Contact forms for inquiries about local services.
• Subscription confirmations for newsletters or marketing materials.

By hiding these pages from general navigation, you’re ensuring a clean user journey while maintaining control over your site's layout.

Here's how we hide thank you pages and paid ads pages in seconds.