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What Is Robots.txt and How Do You Audit It?

  • Ajitesh Agarwal
  • Feb 11
  • 2 min read

Updated: Feb 11

What Is Robots.txt?

Robots.txt is a text file placed in the root directory of your website that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections they can or cannot access.


It helps:

  • Control crawl behavior

  • Prevent indexing of sensitive or duplicate pages

  • Optimize crawl budget

  • Improve technical SEO performance


Why Robots.txt Is Important for SEO

A poorly configured robots.txt file can:

  • Block important pages from being crawled

  • Prevent your site from appearing in search results

  • Waste crawl budget on low-value pages

  • Cause indexing issues

A proper robots.txt helps search engines focus on your most important content.


Free Robots.txt Generator for SEO

Create and Optimize Your Robots.txt File in Seconds

Control how search engines crawl your website with the free Robots.txt Generator by Marcitors. Easily create a SEO-friendly robots.txt file to manage crawl access, protect sensitive pages, and improve your website’s technical SEO performance.


Whether you’re a beginner or an SEO professional, this tool helps you generate a properly formatted robots.txt file without coding.


Basic Robots.txt Example

User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /login/
Allow: /blog/
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

Explanation:

  • User-agent: * → Applies to all crawlers

  • Disallow → Blocks crawling

  • Allow → Permits crawling of specific sections

  • Sitemap → Helps search engines find your pages faster


How to Audit Robots.txt (Step-by-Step)

1. Check If Robots.txt Exists

Open:

If the file is missing, search engines will crawl everything by default.


2. Look for Blocked Important Pages

Check if critical pages are blocked, such as:

  • Homepage

  • Blog pages

  • Product pages

  • Service pages

Common mistake:

Disallow: /

This blocks the entire website from search engines.


3. Test Using Google Search Console

Steps:

  1. Open Google Search Console

  2. Go to Settings → Robots.txt

  3. Use the Robots.txt Tester

  4. Test important URLs to see if they are blocked

4. Check Sitemap Reference

Ensure your robots.txt includes:

This improves crawling and indexing efficiency.


5. Identify Crawl Budget Waste

Block low-value pages such as:

  • /cart/

  • /checkout/

  • /wp-admin/

  • Filter or parameter URLs

  • Thank-you pages


6. Check for Syntax Errors

Common issues:

  • Incorrect wildcards

  • Missing User-agent

  • Extra spaces or formatting errors

Correct wildcard example:

Disallow: /*?sort=

Using a reliable Free Robots.txt Generator ensures your file follows SEO best practices.


What You Should NOT Block

Avoid blocking:

  • CSS or JS files (can affect rendering)

  • Important landing pages

  • Canonical pages

  • Pages you want indexed

If you want to remove a page from search results, use:

  • noindex meta tag (not robots.txt)


Robots.txt Audit Checklist

  • Robots.txt file exists

  • No Disallow: / (unless intentional)

  • Important pages are crawlable

  • Low-value pages are blocked

  • Sitemap included

  • No syntax errors

  • Tested in Google Search Console


Tools for Robots.txt Audit

  • Google Search Console

  • Screaming Frog SEO Spider

  • Ahrefs Site Audit

  • SEMrush Site Audit

  • Technical SEO audit services (like Marcitors)


Tip by Marcitors

A single line in robots.txt can impact your entire website’s visibility. Regular audits ensure search engines crawl the right pages and maximize your SEO performance.

If you want better crawl control and indexing, a Robots.txt Generator is an essential technical SEO tool.

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