A robots.txt file is used to interact with web crawlers or bots, which search engines employ to index the pages of a website. The file specifies which web pages or parts of a website the bots should not crawl.
Here are some important factors to think about for robots.txt:
- Making a robots.txt file: Make a robots.txt file for your website to tell search engine bots which pages or parts they shouldn’t crawl.
- Pages that should not be indexed, such as test sites, duplicate pages, or pages containing sensitive information, can be blocked using the robots.txt file.
- Allowing pages: Use the robots.txt file to provide bots access to particular areas of your website, such as the pictures folder or sitemap.
- User-agent: To define which bots should or shouldn’t be able to visit the site, use the user-agent line in the robots.txt file.
- Checking your robots.txt file: Check your robots.txt file to make sure it’s functioning properly and isn’t preventing pages from being indexed.
- When you make changes to your website, such as by adding new pages or sections, you should update your robots.txt file.
In short, a robots.txt file notifies web crawlers or bots which pages or parts of a website should not be crawled. You may make sure that only the crucial and useful pages of your website are indexed by the search engines and that sensitive or unhelpful sites are not indexed by generating, banning, and permitting pages, utilizing user-agent, testing, and updating your robots.txt file.