Why You Need a “NoIndex, NoFollow” Sign in Your Front Yard

Monday, August 25th, 2008 by Andy Beal

Why You Need a “NoIndex, NoFollow” Sign in Your Front Yard

A California resident is suing Google for trespassing. Apparently Google’s Street View driver ignored a "No Trespassing" sign, drove down a private road, and snapped photos of the resident’s house.

The resident decided that simply submitting a removal request was too easy–and lacked any kind of chance for a settlement from Google–so the case is now before a judge. While legal-eagles will enjoy the debate over whether this truly is an invasion of privacy, or trespassing, I got a kick out of Ars Technica’s comparison to how Google should have treated the sign:

In the real world, things like private roads and trespassing signs serve the same purpose as the tools Google provides for turning away its indexing robots; they are opt-out mechanisms from an earlier age. Forcing people to build a private road, erect a sign, and then still use some online tools to have the pictures pulled (after already being available to the world) seems unduly burdensome on a common-sense level, and it has little to do with whether a stranger pulls into your driveway simply in order to turn around.

The lesson here? If you don’t won’t Google driving on private property, use a "NoIndex, NoFollow" sign instead of "No Trespassing."

Want more marketing news & views? Follow Marketing Pilgrim's Andy Beal on Twitter!

Share this post

20 comments on “Why You Need a “NoIndex, NoFollow” Sign in Your Front Yard”

San Nayak Says:

August 25th, 2008 at 10:45 am

Good idea Andy, “nofollow/noindex” will be a household term in a year or so. Good looking and commited girls will also wear t-shirts saying “nofollow/noindex”. lol.

San Nayak’s last blog post..4 Easy Steps to Start a Personal Blog with Wordpress
Andy Beal Says:

August 25th, 2008 at 10:47 am

@San – LOL on the t-shirts.
Nicole Price Says:

August 25th, 2008 at 11:37 am

What a parody! Great post. Thanks.

Nicole Price’s last blog post..The Most Expensive?.
Andrew Goodman Says:

August 25th, 2008 at 1:01 pm

Noindex/nofollow in your front yard — ha ha, good quip Andy

Andrew Goodman’s last blog post..Google AdWords Success Stories
Stephen Baugh Says:

August 25th, 2008 at 7:06 pm

LOL very funny.

Would I also need to check the robots.txt file to see if my wife was allowing me to come home tonight?
Janice Gentles-Jones Says:

August 25th, 2008 at 10:20 pm

It’s not very often when a post makes me smile. i love it. Thanks Andy.

Janice Gentles-Jones’s last blog post..Converting An Email Into An Outlook Task
Seologia Says:

August 26th, 2008 at 7:22 am

LOL! Wasn’t it Yahoo! that ignored some of these commands?

Seologia’s last blog post..Resultado del Concurso: And the Winner is?
Brake Says:

August 26th, 2008 at 9:13 am

Great post. Thanks.
Hollywood Gossip Girl Says:

August 26th, 2008 at 7:38 pm

I have my sniper rifle ready if Google goes on my private property.
Webdesign Says:

August 27th, 2008 at 4:20 am

Hi,

I think noindex, nofollow ….. is out !!

Thanks.
iPod fan Says:

August 27th, 2008 at 8:33 am

In all seriousness I think what Google did was wrong. I know you’re allowed to take pictures in public but surely private should be ‘private’.

Time to get myself a sign saying noindex and nofollow!

John
Utah SEO Pro Says:

August 27th, 2008 at 6:50 pm

I’m going to block Google out of my private property with robots.txt

Utah SEO Pro’s last blog post..Building an SEO Friendly Site – SES San Jose 2008 Presentation
Bonnie Gibbons Says:

August 28th, 2008 at 12:05 pm

Andy, the proper syntax can be found on this page:

http://www.guiabuscadores.com/2007/117/
Tanner Christensen Says:

August 28th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

Is Google’s mission to discover everything, everywhere, and share it with everyone, everywhere? Better question: is there anybody who thinks that’s a good idea?
SEO Canada Says:

August 28th, 2008 at 5:54 pm

Sure I can put an NoIndex, NoFollow on my front porch… but I rather place a Disallow Robot out there… possibly similar to the traffic control robot from Robocop… That should keep Google away…
Games Says:

August 29th, 2008 at 8:18 am

Noindex and nofollow. I’ve used them only a few times because for me google is always welcomed. I would always invite google to my private party.
Robert Says:

September 1st, 2008 at 7:16 am

HAhahahaha… rather amusing, I’ll be noindexing everything, but feel free to carry on with my neighbors.

On the other hand, this could be quite disturbing… would we have to opt out of everything?
PS3 Says:

September 7th, 2008 at 5:58 pm

If only you could use something similar with the IRS/Inland Revenue !!!
tmdesigner Says:

October 4th, 2008 at 10:51 am

another great post..very nice!
SEO Liverpool Says:

January 23rd, 2009 at 6:46 am

Hilarious. Great to see the ‘little people’ standing up for themselves against the big people. Love the irony and humour…wicked post!!

Marketing Pilgrim