Question 1

What is a robots.txt file and why do I need one?

Accepted Answer

A robots.txt file is a text file placed in your website's root directory that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections of your site they can or cannot access. You need one to: 1) Control crawl budget by blocking low-value pages (admin panels, duplicate content), 2) Prevent indexing of staging/development environments, 3) Specify sitemap location for faster discovery, 4) Manage crawler load on your server. Every website should have a robots.txt file, even if it just allows everything.

Question 2

What should I put in my robots.txt file?

Accepted Answer

A basic robots.txt should include: 1) User-agent: * (applies to all bots), 2) Disallow rules for private/duplicate content (admin pages, search results, duplicate parameters), 3) Allow rules for important content if needed, 4) Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml to help search engines find your content. Optional: Crawl-delay for aggressive bots. Avoid blocking CSS/JS files as Google needs them for rendering. Never block pages you want indexed.

Question 3

Where do I put the robots.txt file?

Accepted Answer

The robots.txt file must be placed in the root directory of your website, accessible at https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt (not in subfolders). For Next.js: place it in the /public folder or generate it via app/robots.ts. For WordPress: use a plugin or add via FTP to root. For static sites: place in root folder before deployment. Test it by visiting yourdomain.com/robots.txt in a browser.

Question 4

Does robots.txt block Google from indexing pages?

Accepted Answer

No. Robots.txt only prevents crawling (visiting), not indexing. If other sites link to a disallowed URL, Google can still index it based on external signals, showing it in search results with limited information. To truly block indexing, use a noindex meta tag or X-Robots-Tag HTTP header. Common mistake: using robots.txt instead of noindex. Use robots.txt to save crawl budget, use noindex to prevent indexing.

Question 5

How do I test if my robots.txt is working?

Accepted Answer

Test robots.txt using: 1) Google Search Console → robots.txt Tester tool (shows syntax errors and tests specific URLs), 2) Visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt directly to verify it's accessible, 3) Use this tool's validator for syntax checking, 4) Check Google Search Console Coverage report for 'Blocked by robots.txt' status. Common issues: incorrect file location, syntax errors, overly broad disallow rules blocking important content.

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