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In the field of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), the correct configuration of a robots.txt file is key to guiding which pages search engine crawlers can access on your site. Whether it is a hobby blog or an extensive online store, good use of robots.txt can improve the ranking of your pages in search engines. A well-designed robots.txt file is necessary for UploadArticle.com as it prioritises content and audience interaction.
Understanding robots.txt
What is a robots.txt file?
A robots.txt file is simply a text file that is located at the top level of a website’s directory. It is designed to specify a web crawler which parts of the website it may visit and archive, thus avoiding areas that are not relevant for it to index.
Why does a website need a robots.txt file?
A robots.txt file can be beneficial for websites because this has a direct impact on their crawl budget. The strategy is necessary for large websites, which stand to lose a lot from unnecessary SEO expenditures and a multitude of pages that don’t warrant crawling.
How robots.txt works
How robots.txt Works Together With Web Crawlers
Crawlers working for search engines look for the robots.txt file whenever they gain access to your site first. This file contains restrictions on what pages or directories must not be indexed and crawled. Pages that are marked as disallowed will be ignored by crawlers.
robots.txt and Its Effect On Page Indexing
However, it should be noted that even if they are blocked from crawling those pages, they could still be added to the index if they were linked elsewhere on the internet. So, it is clear that there is a difference in indexing and crawling regarding what are the actions that involve a robots.txt file.
Basic Structure of a robots.txt
User-Agent Directive
This allows the specification of the web crawler that the rules are applicable to. All crawlers can be set or instructed to follow the specified rules or certain crawlers such as Googlebot.
Disallow Directive
To mark parts of websites that should not be crawled. For example, Disallow: /private/ would prevent all spiders from accessing any content that is placed in the private directory.
Allow Directive
This is used to permit access to certain files in a disallowed directory. For example, a folder can be disallowed and a single file in the folder can be allowed.
Sitemap Directive
Adding a Sitemap directive in the robots.txt file enables the crawlers to find the sitemap of your website which contains all the pages that you want indexed.
How To Create a Forwards Robots.txt File
Examining Your Site’s Structure
It is necessary to know the structure of your website before you create the robots.txt file. Take note of which parts are necessary for public access through search engines and which parts are confidential.
What Will Be Added and What Will Be Excluded
Identify which directories, files or pages are to be allowed access for browsing or CAFRE and consider the objectives of your site and SEO possibilities.
Creating The Document With A Text Editor
Now that you have defined your requirements, create the robots.txt file using any basic text editor. Start with the user-agent directives, followed by disallow and allow directives.
Testing The Document For Errors
At this point, your robots.txt file has been created. However, it is important to test it for errors. Even slight formatting or syntax errors can have devastating consequences, such as inadvertently preventing the indexing of useful pages.
Sample robots.txt File For UploadArticle.com
Normal Configuration
The following is an example of a robots.txt file for UploadArticle.com:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /login/
Allow: /public/
Sitemap: https://www.uploadarticles.com.au/sitemap.xml
Tailoring to Specific User Requirements
We may need to further adjust the file based on your site’s specifications. A good example is when some content is only available to users who are registered. You may disallow crawling of those directories.
Avoiding Mistakes that are Common in the Creation of robots.txt Files
Some Content is Blocked by Mistake
By far, the single biggest blunder is blocking content by mistake. Make it a rule to check each of your directives to be sure important sites are accessible for indexing.
Errors In The Syntax Of The Document
Every robots.txt file is prone to ambiguity if it contains any syntax errors. Losing a directive because of an unwanted character or an additional space is quite possible. Use tools such as the robots.txt Tester provided by Google to check the proper formatting of your file.
Not Checking for Regular Updates
When proper usage of the robots.txt file is ignored, that may lead to overlooking certain chances which could be problems for the SEO. Make it a point to frequently check and update the file, especially after changes have been made to the site.
Robots.txt Optimisation Strategies – More Advanced Ones
Optimising Crawl Budget
Utilise your robots.txt file to determine how search engines plan to spend their crawl budget on your website. Set higher value pages and avoid spending that budget on low value pages.
Disallowing Certain User-Agents
You can already tackle some crawlers that you don’t want to access your site in your robots.txt file. This is useful in blocking some untrusted bots from your site.
This portion includes the uploading of the robots.txt file as well as the use of wildcards and dollar signs.
Permitting wildcards and the dollar sign enables the possibility of creating intricate directives. For example, with Disallow: /*.pdf$ one can block all URLs that possess a particular extension. As such, more advanced directives are possible.
Uploading Your robots.txt File to UploadArticle.com
With an FTP client, login with your details and access the server of your website. You can now upload your robots.txt file. You have now completed logging in and can navigate to the root directory.
