robots.txt

Robots.txt is a plain-text file placed at the root of your website (e.g., https://example.com/robots.txt) that gives instructions to web crawlers (robots) about which parts of your site they may or may not access. By specifying “Allow” and “Disallow” directives, you control crawler behavior, helping protect sensitive areas, manage crawl budget, and prevent indexing of duplicate or staging content.

While robots.txt directives are voluntary guidelines rather than strict rules, most major search engines respect them. Improper configuration can inadvertently block important pages from being crawled and indexed.

Why Robots.txt Matters

• Crawl Budget Management:
  Prevent crawlers from wasting resources on low-value pages (e.g., admin panels, archives), focusing them on your most important content.
• Security & Privacy:
  Block bots from scanning private directories, backups, or staging environments (though robots.txt should not be your only security measure).
• Duplicate Content Control:
  Stop crawling of URL parameters or printer-friendly versions to avoid duplicate content issues.

Best Practices for Robots.txt

1. Place at Root Directory:
   Ensure the file resides at https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt; subfolders will not be recognized.
2. Test Before Deploying:
   Use tools like Google Search Console’s robots.txt Tester to verify syntax and directives.
3. Allow Essential Resources:
   Do not block CSS, JavaScript, or image files needed for rendering; blocking them can hurt SEO and user experience.
4. Combine with Meta Robots Tags:
   For finer control, use <meta name="robots" content="noindex, follow"> on pages rather than in robots.txt when you need to prevent indexing but allow crawling of resources.
5. Keep It Simple:
   Only disallow what’s necessary. Overly broad rules can harm indexation of valuable content.