Google's Refresh Outdated Content Tool: Fixing Old Snippets After a Page Changes
If a website has deleted a page or edited out something about you, but Google still shows the old title or description, you can ask Google to recrawl it with the Refresh Outdated Content tool. You paste in the URL, Google checks the live page, and if the content really has changed or disappeared, the search result is updated or dropped.
The tool only works on what's already gone. If the text is still on the live page, a refresh request won't remove it.
First, figure out which situation you're in
Google has several removal tools, and the wrong one wastes time. Match your situation to the right one:
Getting the site owner to make the change comes first. Google's own advice in its help page on contacting a website owner is to look for a contact link, check Whois records for the registrant, or reach the hosting company. Once they have acted, you can ask Google to catch up.
- The page was deleted, but Google still lists it. Use Refresh Outdated Content.
- The page still exists, but the part about you was edited out. Use Refresh Outdated Content.
- The page still exists and still shows the content. Refresh won't help. You need the site owner to change it, or a policy-based request if it qualifies, such as personal contact info through Google's removal options.
- You own the website. Use the Removals tool inside your own Search Console property, described near the end.
Do you even need to file?
Maybe not. Google's help page for the tool says that if a live page has already been updated, you don't have to fill out the form. Google recrawls pages on its own schedule, and deleted pages drop out as part of normal updating.
The tool is useful when you don't want to wait for that, or when a page is rarely recrawled and the stale snippet keeps showing up. Filing doesn't hurt anything, so if the old text is causing a real problem, it's reasonable to submit.
How to submit a web page refresh
The steps, per Google's help page:
You don't need to own the site or have a Search Console account for the site. The tool is built for exactly the case where someone else's page mentions you.
- Copy the exact URL of the result. In Google, right-click the result title and copy the link address, or open the result and copy it from the address bar. Use the URL that Google is showing, not the site's homepage.
- Open the Refresh Outdated Content page.
- At the bottom, select Request refresh.
- On the Page tab, paste the URL.
- Select Submit.
How to refresh an outdated image
Images work a little differently because you need the image's own address, not the page it sits on. Google splits it into two parts:
This handles images that were deleted from the source. If the image is still live and it's a photo of you that shouldn't be public, look at our image removal page for the other routes.
- Search for the image at images.google.com.
- Right-click the thumbnail in the results and choose Copy link address. Your browser may label it slightly differently.
- Open the Refresh Outdated Content tool and select Request refresh.
- Choose New request, then Image.
- Paste the link address into the search results URL box and select Submit.
Checking on your request
Google's help page says to check status by going back to Refresh Outdated Content in Google Search Console, where your submitted requests are listed. There's no published timeline, so don't count on a specific turnaround.
Why a refresh request fails
Most failed requests come down to one of these:
If the page genuinely no longer shows the material and the result persists, wait for Google's next crawl and resubmit. Don't file dozens of duplicate requests.
- The content is still live. Load the page yourself in a private browser window. If you can still see the text or photo, so can Google.
- The wrong URL. Sites often serve the same article at several addresses, with and without "www", with tracking parameters, or through an AMP or print version. Submit the one Google actually displays.
- The page moved rather than disappeared. If the old address now redirects to a new one that still has the content, Google will follow the redirect.
- The content is in a copy elsewhere. Scrapers and aggregators often republish articles. The original being gone doesn't touch the copies, and each copy is its own URL.
If you own the site: use Search Console instead
Site owners have a stronger option. In a verified Search Console property, the Removals tool offers two choices under Temporary Removals, then New Request:
Google is explicit that a temporary removal is only a first step. To keep a page out permanently, Google's Search Central documentation says to delete or update the content, password-protect it, or add a noindex tag, and not to rely on robots.txt. If you run a business site and an old page is causing trouble, that's the order to work in.
- Clear snippet in search, for when you've updated a page and want Google's description to reflect it.
- Temporarily remove URL, which blocks the page from Search for about six months.
What this tool can't do
It doesn't remove anything from other search engines, from archive sites, or from social media shares of the original. Other search engines have their own processes. And it has no power over a page that still says what it said. If the source won't change, what's left is either a policy or legal request that fits the content, or building up accurate results that outrank it.
When outside help makes sense
The tool itself is simple. The hard part usually comes before it: getting a publisher or site owner to edit or delete the page in the first place, especially a news outlet or a site that doesn't answer email. If you've been stuck at that step, our article removal page explains what's realistic and what isn't.
Want this handled for you? See our remove outdated results from Google service.
