Although more technical, robots.txt files are an essential tool for improving how search engines crawl and index your website. This guide explains what robots.txt files are, how they work, best practices for implementation, and common issues flagged during a Search Atlas Site Auditor SEO audit.
🤖 What Are robots.txt Files?
🤖 What Are robots.txt Files?
The robots.txt file tells web crawlers which parts of your website they can or cannot access. It includes:
A user-agent string (the crawler’s name)
Robots directives (rules for that crawler)
Paths or URLs specifying which pages are restricted
Robots.txt helps:
Prevent unready or private pages from being indexed
Restrict access to specific crawlers (e.g., Applebot, Ahrefbot)
Control which content search engines can access
📍 Example:
User-agent: googlebot
Disallow: /confirmation-page/
📂 Where Is My robots.txt File Located?
📂 Where Is My robots.txt File Located?
The file must be placed in the root directory of your website (e.g., https://www.website.com/robots.txt).
If the crawler can’t find it, it assumes all pages are crawlable.
If you don’t have a robots.txt file yet, upload one to your root directory — you may need help from your hosting provider.
🔍 Why Is robots.txt Important for SEO?
🔍 Why Is robots.txt Important for SEO?
Robots.txt is a cornerstone of technical SEO best practices because it directly communicates with crawlers.
Key Benefits
Improves crawling efficiency
Prevents indexing of low-value or duplicate pages (like confirmation pages)
Protects confidential areas of your site
Keeps search results clean and relevant
⚙️ How Does robots.txt Work?
⚙️ How Does robots.txt Work?
When a crawler finds your robots.txt file, it reads the directives and decides which URLs to visit.
If no restriction is specified, crawlers will freely access and index pages.
🧠 Best Practices for robots.txt
🧠 Best Practices for robots.txt
Encode in UTF-8 format.
The file name must be robots.txt (case-sensitive).
Place it in the root directory.
Only one robots.txt file per (sub)domain.
Each user-agent must have its own directive group.
Be specific to avoid blocking full subdirectories accidentally.
Do not use
noindexin robots.txt.Remember, the file is publicly viewable.
Configure robots meta tags on pages separately as needed.
🚨 Common robots.txt Issues (and How to Fix Them)
🚨 Common robots.txt Issues (and How to Fix Them)
1️⃣ robots.txt Not Present
1️⃣ robots.txt Not Present
Issue: No robots.txt in the root directory.
Fix: Create one and upload it to the correct location.
2️⃣ robots.txt on a Non-Canonical Domain Variant
2️⃣ robots.txt on a Non-Canonical Domain Variant
Issue: Multiple robots.txt files across www/non-www or HTTP/HTTPS versions.
Fix: Only one canonical robots.txt should exist (e.g.,
https://www.website.com/robots.txt).
Redirect all others to the canonical version using 301 redirects.
3️⃣ Invalid Directives or Syntax
3️⃣ Invalid Directives or Syntax
Issue: Incorrect syntax prevents crawlers from following your rules.
Fix: Review the file and correct invalid directives. The Site Auditor will list specific errors for you.
4️⃣ robots.txt Should Reference an Accessible Sitemap
4️⃣ robots.txt Should Reference an Accessible Sitemap
Issue: Missing sitemap reference at the end of the file.
Fix: Add the sitemap line:
Sitemap: https://www.website.com/sitemap.xml
5️⃣ robots.txt Includes a Crawl Directive
5️⃣ robots.txt Includes a Crawl Directive
Issue: The crawl-delay directive slows crawler access and delays content indexing.
Fix: Remove all crawl-delay rules to ensure faster updates and indexation.
🧩 Conclusion
A correctly configured robots.txt file strengthens your site’s SEO performance by guiding crawlers efficiently.
However, an incorrectly configured file can block valuable content and harm rankings.
✅ If you’re unsure, consult an SEO professional to properly configure your robots.txt and safeguard your visibility in search engines.