Introduction
A robots.txt generator helps website owners create a robots.txt file containing instructions for compliant crawlers. By designating which areas of the website crawlers are asked to access or avoid, a website can encourage more focused crawling and reduce the likelihood that crawlers will follow unhelpful paths.
Whether a website is a blog, business page, online store, or media resource, it can profit from understanding how robots.txt works and how to use a robots.txt generator.
The following article explains what a robots.txt file is, how a robots.txt generator works, how to interpret the generated file, and how to form rules for a website’s crawling preferences.
About the Robots.txt Generator
A robots.txt generator is a tool that aids in the creation of the plain-text file that defines instructions for web crawlers.
The robots.txt file is typically found in the root directory of a website. For instance, example.com would commonly have the file available at example.com/robots.txt.
A robots.txt file uses several directives to define rules for web crawlers. These typically include:
- User-agent: Defines a group of crawlers to which the following rules will apply
- Disallow: Asks the defined crawlers not to crawl a defined path
- Allow: Asks the defined crawlers to allow a defined path in cases where a broader disallow rule would otherwise apply (behavior varies by crawler)
- Sitemap: Defines a sitemap URL to aid crawlers in finding pages
A robots.txt generator helps to organize these rules into a coherent file. Rather than writing the file from scratch, website administrators can use a generator to create a preliminary version and edit it before publishing it to the web server.
Website owners should be aware that the robots.txt file defines rules for crawling and not for security or access control. Therefore, robots.txt rules should not be used to protect private information or assume that disallowed URLs will remain private or unviewable by search engines.
How Does a Robots.txt Generator Work?
A robots.txt generator creates a plain-text file based on the defined instructions for website crawling.
In most cases, the process involves the following steps:
1. Define the crawler groups
A robots.txt file typically defines rules for groups of crawlers. The user can define a generic group (using a wildcard) or specify particular crawlers.
The following example defines a generic group:
User-agent:This rule applies to all crawlers that are aware of the robots.txt standard.
In this case, the wildcard entry asks all compliant crawlers to follow the subsequent rules. In some cases, crawlers may need to be specified.
2. Define the crawling restrictions
Next, the user defines which paths crawlers should be allowed to crawl or specifically disallowed from crawling.
The following example shows a rule that disallows crawling of the /admin/ directory:
User-agent:
Disallow: /admin/The above rules ask any compliant crawler to avoid following links or crawling pages in the /admin/ directory.
This does not prevent these URLs from being crawled by non-compliant bots or manually entered by users.
3. Define exceptions, if necessary
In some cases, individual files or directories with public information may need to be exempt from disallow rules.
When this is the case, the allow directive can be used. This directive is not fully standard, so it is best to research how the target crawler handles allows and disallows before using it.
The following example illustrates a set of rules that disallow crawling of /assets/ but allow crawling of /assets/public/ :
User-agent:
Disallow: /assets/
Allow: /assets/public/In this case, the /assets/public/ directory will be crawled if the crawler follows the rules.
4. Define the sitemap URL, if applicable
To define a sitemap URL, the website needs to have an XML sitemap that complies with the Sitemap Protocol.
The sitemap directive informs crawlers of the location of the sitemap.
The following example shows a sitemap directive:
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xmlIn this case, the URL example.com/sitemap.xml would be followed by crawlers that are aware of the robots.txt standard and follow sitemap directives. Only use this directive if the URL is valid and points to a functioning sitemap.
5. View the generated file
After the user has defined the necessary rules, the robots.txt generator will display the contents of the file.
At this point, the user should review the file to ensure that the rules are correct.
6. Publish the file
The file should be published to the web server at the appropriate domain location.
The file should be available at /robots.txt on the target domain. For example, example.com/robots.txt should deliver the file, and blog.example.com/robots.txt should deliver a robots.txt file for the blog subdomain.
The web server or website publishing system will need to be configured to deliver the robots.txt file. Once the file has been uploaded, it should be tested to ensure that it is available and contains the correct information.
Understanding Robots.txt Generator Results
After using a robots.txt generator, the user will receive a plain-text file containing website crawling rules.
The following is a brief description of the directives that may be present in the file.
User-agent rules
User-agent directives define a group of crawlers to which the next set of rules will apply.
The asterisk character is a wildcard that applies the following rules to all crawlers that follow the robots.txt standard.
User-agent:The rules that follow this directive will apply to all crawlers. In some cases, specific crawlers may need to be defined.
Disallow rules
Disallow rules define a path that should not be crawled by the defined crawlers.
User-agent:
Disallow: /search/This example will cause compliant crawlers to refrain from crawling any URLs that match the /search/ pattern.
This rule does not stop search crawlers from crawling these pages – it only prevents crawlers from following relative links on disallowed pages.
In some cases, an empty disallow rule may be used.
User-agent:
Disallow:This indicates that no URLs should be disallowed for the defined crawler group.
It is crucial to review any generated file and ensure that it does not contain any unexpected or overly broad disallow rules. Using a broad or unexpected disallow rule may prevent crawlers from accessing public web pages.
Allow rules
Allow rules define a path that should be crawled, even if a parent rule would otherwise disallow it.
This directive is not standard, so it is best to research the behavior of the target crawler before using allow rules.
User-agent:
Disallow: /assets/
Allow: /assets/public/This example demonstrates an allow directive that permits crawling of the /assets/public/ directory, which was otherwise disallowed.
Sitemap directive
The sitemap directive defines the location of a sitemap. It informs the crawlers of the location of a sitemap that may contain additional URL information.
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xmlA robots.txt file does not force crawlers to follow the defined sitemap, and a sitemap does not override disallow rules. The webmaster should ensure that the defined sitemap URL is correct and points to a valid sitemap file.
Crawling vs. indexing
One common misunderstanding about the robots.txt file is that it controls whether a page appears in search results. In reality, a robots.txt file only controls whether a page can be crawled. Indexing is a separate process that involves a search engine determining whether a page should appear in search results.
To control whether a page is indexed, the webmaster should use the meta robots tag or the noindex page directive. Page indexing typically requires that the page be crawlable by that search engine. Therefore, a page that appears in search results may still appear in search results if it is blocked in robots.txt. In that case, the search engine may not be able to follow the noindex tag on the page.
Practical Examples of Robots.txt Rules
The following examples demonstrate how to use a robots.txt generator to define website crawling rules.
Example 1: Allow crawling on a simple website
In this example, the website does not wish to restrict crawling on any website. A simple robots.txt file can be created as follows:
User-agent:
Disallow:
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xmlExample 2: Disallow a search directory
Some websites generate many search URLs, which can tax a search engine. To prevent search crawlers from following these URLs:
User-agent:
Disallow: /search/This rule will cause search crawlers to ignore any URLs matching the /search/ pattern.
Example 3: Disallow a non-public application directory
A website administrator may wish to prevent crawlers from following a dashboard application:
User-agent:
Disallow: /dashboard/In this example, the crawlers will be instructed to ignore the /dashboard/ directory and any relative subdirectories. It is important to remember that this only prevents crawling – the application should also be protected by user authentication and access control.
Example 4: Define a sitemap URL
A website may have a sitemap that it wishes to make available to crawlers:
User-agent:
Disallow:
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xmlIn this example, the website allows crawling on all directories and files. This will allow search engines to follow the links and discover the sitemap. The website’s robots.txt rules do not guarantee that every URL will be crawled or followed by search engines.
Tips for Creating an SEO Friendly Robots.Txt File
The following are best practices and considerations when creating a robots.txt file with a robots.txt generator:
Understand the URL structure: Study the URL structure of a website and identify the directories that should be publicly accessible and those that should be disallowed
Avoid disallowing important URLs: Do not block important URLs such as landing pages, articles, or search directories by mistake
Security is not handled by robots.txt: Private documents and web pages should be secured with user authentication and should not be available to unauthenticated users
Use the correct file location: The file should be available on the domain at /robots.txt
Review the syntax: Review the directive names to ensure there are no typos
Test the rules: Use the robots.txt testing tool provided by the intended search engine
Update the file as necessary: Update the robots.txt file whenever website URLs change dramatically or a new website section launches
Use a backup file: Keep a backup of the previous file in case an error occurs
Use a sitemap: This will help crawlers find website URLs, which will improve search engine visibility
Crawlers follow rules differently: Review the documentation of the target search crawlers to determine which directives are supported
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is robots.txt?
Robots.txt is a plain-text file that informs search engine crawlers about restrictions and guidelines for crawling a website.
2. What is a robots.txt generator?
A robots.txt generator is a tool that assists in creating the robots.txt file by defining the directives for search crawlers.
3. Where is robots.txt located?
The file is typically located in the domain root directory.
4. Does robots.txt improve SEO?
Robots.txt helps technical SEO by allowing website administrators to prevent crawlers from following unhelpful URLs. This file, however, does not directly improve search engine rankings or increase visibility in search results.
5. Can robots.txt hide a webpage from Google?
This file cannot reliably hide a webpage from Google. A webpage may still appear in search results if Google discovers the URL through a different means. If a webpage must be hidden from search results, use the noindex page directive.
6. Is robots.txt the same as robot.txt?
The correct filename is robots.txt with an “s” after the word “robot.” The alternative filenames are used incorrectly or in error.
7. Can I block all search engines with robots.txt?
Yes – a file that contains the following directives will block all search engines:
User-agent:
Disallow: /A search engine will scan the website and will not follow any links or URLs on the page.
8. Should all websites have a robots.txt file?
Not all websites need this file, but it is useful in expressing crawling preferences to search engines. The contents of the file depend on the website’s needs.
9. Does the robots.txt file keep my files secret?
No – the file is publicly available and provides guidance to search crawlers. Files that contain sensitive information should be secured with user authentication and authorization.
10. How often should I update the robots.txt file?
A website’s crawling preferences may need to be updated when the website’s structure changes. It is good practice to review the file at least once a year and update it as needed.
With this guide, website administrators will be able to use a robots.txt generator to create this file and define crawling preferences for search engines. The file defines rules for crawlers to follow, which can improve a website’s technical SEO profile. When using a robots.txt generator, it is important to review the file’s contents, ensure that no important URLs are blocked, and test the file with the intended search crawlers. A properly configured robots.txt file will enable a website to dictate crawling preferences to search engines and help them better understand the website’s structure and content.