Robots.txt

A robots.txt file is a simple text file located in the root directory of a website that provides instructions to web crawlers (robots) about which pages or sections should or should not be crawled. It helps manage traffic to the site and control which parts of the website are indexed by search engines.

Also known as: Robots exclusion protocol, robots file.

Comparisons

• Robots.txt vs. Meta Robots Tag: While robots.txt controls crawler access at a file or folder level, meta robots tags manage indexing at the page level within HTML.

• Robots.txt vs. Sitemap: robots.txt blocks access to certain areas, while sitemaps provide guidance on which pages should be prioritized for indexing.

Pros

• Prevents unnecessary crawling: Helps keep sensitive or irrelevant content (like admin pages) from being indexed.

• Optimizes crawl budget: Directs search engine crawlers to the most important pages, improving SEO performance.

• Simple to implement: Just a text file, making it easy to set up and modify.

Cons

• Not a security tool: It can be ignored by malicious crawlers, so it should not be used to hide sensitive information.

• May unintentionally block important pages: Incorrect configurations can prevent valuable content from being indexed.

• No guarantee: Some bots may ignore the robots.txt file and still crawl restricted content.

Example

A robots.txt file on an e-commerce site might block crawlers from accessing sensitive pages like checkout or user account sections.