The Guide Status that you assign to your guide is a critical factor in the discoverability and visibility of your guide.  While the full details on how guide status affects visibility is extremely nuanced following are some basic recommendations:

• Published
  • The guide should be visible on the web.
  • The guide will be indexed by Google or other search engines.
  • The guide will display in LibGuides native search results.
• Private
  • The guide should be visible on the web, but only for people who know its URL (or who follow a link to the guide).
  • The guide will not be indexed by Google or other search engines.
  • The guide will not display in LibGuides native search results.
• Unpublished
  • The guide is not yet ready to be published.
  • Or the guide is being temporarily hidden from the public (e.g., as in a guide for a course that is taught every other year).
  • The guide will not be indexed by Google or other search engines.
  • The guide will not display in LibGuides native search results.