Unavailable After Directive

What This Means

The page contains an unavailable_after directive in its meta robots tag, specifying a date after which search engines should remove the page from their index. The platform detects pages with this directive — which may or may not be past their expiry date.

Why It Matters for SEO

The unavailable_after directive is used for time-limited content like event pages, promotional offers, or seasonal content that has a known end date. It is a valid and useful directive when used intentionally. However, if it has been applied accidentally or with an incorrect date, it may cause pages to be deindexed when they should remain accessible.

What the Platform Checks

Checks meta robots content for the unavailable_after value. Fires on any page where this directive is detected, with the expiry date included in the issue details.

How to Fix It

• Verify the expiry date is correct for the page's content lifecycle.
• If the date has passed and the page should remain indexed: remove the unavailable_after directive immediately.
• If the date is correct: ensure the page has a redirect or appropriate successor page to serve users who arrive after the expiry.
• For event pages: consider redirecting to the event's archive or upcoming events page after the event date.