Robots.txt - The Basics

[Lee]

By writing a structured text file you can indicate to robots that certain parts of your server are off-limits to some or all robots. It is best explained with an example:

# robots.txt file for general use on web servers.

User-agent: webcrawler
Disallow:

User-agent: googlebot
Disallow: /

User-agent: *
Disallow: /cgi-bin
Disallow: /logs
The first line, starting with '#', specifies a comment.

The first paragraph specifies that the robot called 'webcrawler' has nothing disallowed: it may go anywhere.

The second paragraph indicates that the robot called 'googlebot' has all relative URLs starting with '/' disallowed. Because all relative URL's on a server start with '/', this means the entire site is closed off.

The third paragraph indicates that all other robots should not visit URLs starting with /cgi-bin or /log. Note the '*' is a special token, meaning "any other User-agent"; you cannot use wildcard patterns or regular expressions in either User-agent or Disallow lines.

Two common errors:

Wildcards are not supported: instead of 'Disallow: /tmp/*' just say 'Disallow: /tmp'.
You shouldn't put more than one path on a Disallow line (this may change in a future version of the spec)
Ultimately, without the use of robots.txt files on your servers/domains, you are risking a variety of potential problems including, unauthorized access to your cgi directory, unauthorized viewing of your site stats, possible spamming of the search engines by accidental crawling of doorway pages.

One distinct advantage however of having a robots.txt file on your server is that, quite simply, you will be able to tell when and where your site has been indexed or potentially indexed as, all robots will automatically call for the robots.txt file BEFORE any other page on your server so, as long as you keep an eye open for any calls of this file, you can see who is knocking at your site for indexing purposes.

Below is a robots.txt example that you can copy and paste into a text document to use on your own server:

<!--Start Copy Below This Line-->

User-agent: *
Disallow: /cgi-bin
Disallow: /logs

<!--End Copy Above This Line-->

The above will allow all spiders to crawl all of your site except the subdirectory's 'cgi-bin' and 'logs' which, may be altered to suit any subdirectory's you do not wish the spiders to crawl on your server.

Article written by Lee.

http://www.webmasteradvertising.com

[geniusguard]

Robot.txt file is the main constituent that enables various web crawlers and search bots to cache your website. You can always make use of this file to allow or keep robots from caching your website.

[foduu1]

robots.txt. document may be the main major component that permits different web spiders in addition to seek robots to be able to cache your site. You possibly can constantly take advantage of this document to allow or maybe retain bots via caching your site.

[sanjalisharma89]

Robots.txt is a file in the root directory of your web site that instructs web crawlers what parts, or all, or none of your site they are allowed examine.

[igfranklin]

Good to know about the Robots.txt in detail description.

[chjikeni]

Good to know about the Robots.txt in detail descriptio

[techimpero]

A robots.txt file serves as a guide for web crawlers, indicating which areas of a website they can or cannot access. It's a simple text file located at the root directory of a website. It employs a basic syntax: user-agent identifies the crawler, while directives specify permissions. "Disallow" blocks access to specific URLs, while "Allow" permits access. The file can also include comments preceded by "#" symbols. Effective use of robots.txt can optimize a website's crawl budget, directing crawlers to important content and preventing them from indexing irrelevant or sensitive information. However, it's important to note that robots.txt directives are merely suggestions to compliant crawlers and may not be respected by all. Regularly updating and monitoring this file is crucial for effective website management and SEO.

[techimpero]

Robots.txt is a text file that tells web robots (like search engine crawlers) which pages or files they can or cannot crawl on a website. It's placed in the root directory of a website and uses simple syntax to specify directives for crawlers. "Disallow" blocks access to certain pages or directories, while "Allow" permits access. It's essential for controlling search engine indexing, managing crawl budget, and protecting sensitive content. However, it's important to note that robots.txt is a guideline, not a strict rule, and some robots may ignore it.

[simoneraineop]

You've provided an excellent and concise explanation of what a `robots.txt` file is and its significance. Here's a summary with key points highlighted for clarity: --- ### **What is `robots.txt`?** - **Definition**: A text file located in the root directory of a website. - **Purpose**: Directs web robots (eg, search engine crawlers) on what content they are allowed or disallowed to crawl. --- ### **Key Directives in `robots.txt`:** - **`Disallow`**: Blocks crawlers from accessing specific pages or directories. - Example: `Disallow: /private/` - **`Allow`**: Explicitly allows access to specific areas. - Example: `Allow: /public/` - **Wildcard Operators**: Used for pattern matching in rules. - Example: `Disallow: /images/*.jpg` blocks all `.jpg` files in `/images/`. --- ### **Why is it Important?** 1. **Control Search Engine Indexing**: Prevents sensitive or irrelevant content from appearing in search results. 2. **Manage Crawl Budget**: Ensures crawlers focus on priority pages, especially for large sites. 3. **Protect Sensitive Content**: Hides certain parts of a website from bots (though not foolproof). --- ### **Limitations of `robots.txt`:** - **Guidelines, Not Rules**: Compliant bots respect `robots.txt`, but malicious or non-compliant bots might ignore it. - **Not a Security Feature**: Use other measures (eg, authentication, IP restrictions) to secure sensitive data. --- ### **