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What is Robots.txt?

Robots.txt is a text file that tells search engine crawlers which parts of your site they can or cannot access. It sits at your domain root and guides crawl behavior.

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Table of Contents

  1. What is Robots.txt?
  2. How to Use It Safely
  3. Frequently Asked Questions

What is Robots.txt?

Robots.txt gives instructions to crawlers using "Allow" and "Disallow" rules. It is the first file bots check when visiting your site.

How to Use It Safely

Blocking a page in robots.txt does not guarantee it stays out of the index — use noindex for that.

Check Your Crawlability

Audit your robots.txt and crawl setup with SEOBOTX.

Free Audit

Frequently Asked Questions

Does robots.txt remove pages from Google?

No, it controls crawling. Use noindex to keep pages out of the index.

Where does robots.txt go?

At the root: yoursite.com/robots.txt.