indexifembedded is a robots rule that lets Google index the content of a page when that content is embedded in another page through an iframe or a similar HTML tag, even though the page itself carries noindex. It only takes effect together with noindex.
At a glance
- Type
- Google robots rule (meta tag, X-Robots-Tag)
- Affects
- content embedded through iframes or similar HTML tags
- Values
- only effective together with
noindex - Since
- January 2022
Last checked:
How does indexifembedded work?
noindex normally keeps a page out of the index everywhere, including the places where other sites embed it. With noindex, indexifembedded, Google may still index the content as part of the embedding page. The embedded URL does not appear in results on its own.
Google introduced the rule in January 2022 for publishers who run separate URLs for embedded media, such as a podcast host with an episode page and a separate player URL. The episode page is not supposed to rank, but the content should count wherever the player is embedded.
The rule can be set in the robots meta tag or in the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header. As of the 2022 reports, only Google supports it.
| Rule | Where it's set | What it controls in Google Search | Effect on AI Overviews and AI Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
nosnippet | whole page (robots meta tag or X-Robots-Tag) | no text snippet or video preview; a static image thumbnail may still appear | content isn't used as direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode |
max-snippet:[number] | whole page | caps the text snippet at that many characters; 0 equals nosnippet, -1 lets Google choose the length | limits how much content may be used as direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode |
data-nosnippet | single text section (attribute on span, div or section) | the marked text isn't used in the snippet | listed by Google as a control for limiting content in AI features in Search |
max-image-preview:[none|standard|large] | whole page | maximum size of the image preview; without it, a default-size preview may be shown | Google only lists web search, Google Images, Discover and Assistant here, no AI features |
noimageindex | whole page | images on this page aren't indexed | no statement from Google |
unavailable_after: [date] | whole page | the page stops appearing in search results after that date; Googlebot then crawls the URL much less often | no separate statement from Google |
indexifembedded (this term) | whole page, only together with noindex | content may be indexed when embedded in another page through an iframe or similar tag | no statement from Google |
noindex (for comparison) | whole page | page doesn't appear in search results | listed by Google as a control for AI features; a link in AI Overviews or AI Mode requires an indexed page |
noarchive | whole page | no longer used by Google and ignored; the cached link it controlled no longer exists | none (Google ignores the rule) |
According to Google, a page can only be shown as a link in AI Overviews or AI Mode if it's indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet. All rules only work if crawlers are allowed to fetch the page. When rules conflict, the more restrictive one applies. For AI training and grounding in some of Google's other systems, Google points to Google-Extended. Sources: Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications (last updated 2026-03-24); Google Search Central: AI features and your website (last updated 2025-12-10). Last checked: .
Example
<meta name="googlebot" content="noindex, indexifembedded">
The same rule as an HTTP header:
X-Robots-Tag: noindex, indexifembedded
A page with this tag stays out of the index as a standalone result. When another page loads it in an iframe, Google may use its content for the embedding page.
Common mistakes
- Using
indexifembeddedwithoutnoindex. Google’s specification says it has no effect on its own. - Expecting it to work for PDFs. In an independent test, PDFs were not merged into the embedding page, so the rule changed nothing for them.
- Blocking the embedded URL in robots.txt. Google then cannot fetch the page and cannot read the rule.
Sources
- Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- New robots tag: indexifembedded – Google Search Central Blog (January 2022)developers.google.com
- Does indexifembedded Work as Expected? – Tame the Bots (August 2022, secondary source)tamethebots.com
Last updated: