Should You Noindex Archive Pages in GeoDirectory? (Thin Content & SEO Tips)
Intro
While working on my TutorLounge project, I started worrying about archive pages with thin content in GeoDirectory.
For example:
- Category archives like
/student-levels/early-childhood/ - City archives like
/new-york/white-plains/
Some of these pages had very little content, and I wasn’t sure if they might hurt my SEO.
So I asked GeoDirectory support: “Should I set certain archive pages as noindex, or just leave them?”
Here’s what I learned.
Problem
GeoDirectory generates a lot of location and category archive pages. But not every city or category has enough listings to justify its own page.
Result: you end up with thin pages (basically empty archives). The big question:
- Do thin pages hurt SEO?
- Should I noindex them?
Solution
The answer depends on your setup.
1. Use an SEO Plugin (Yoast or Rank Math)
Both Yoast and Rank Math let you easily control indexing:
- You can noindex specific categories, tags, or CPT archives.
- Or you can go page by page and mark thin archives as noindex.
2. How Google Sees Thin Pages
According to GeoDirectory support:
- A few thin pages among strong ones are usually ignored by Google.
- Having too many thin pages may hurt overall site quality.
- If you’re unsure, it’s safer to noindex thin or low-value pages.
3. Decide What to Keep Indexed
- Keep indexed: important cities, strong categories with good listings.
- Set noindex: small cities or categories with little/no content.
Extra Notes
- Sometimes Google automatically doesn’t rank thin pages — so you don’t always need to panic.
- But manually setting noindex gives you more control and keeps your sitemap cleaner.
- If you later add more listings to those thin pages, you can always remove the noindex tag.
Conclusion
Thin archive pages are common in GeoDirectory sites, but they don’t have to ruin your SEO.
👉 Rule of thumb:
- Keep high-value archives indexed.
- Noindex thin/empty ones using Yoast or Rank Math.
This way, you keep Google focused on your best content while still building out your site’s structure.