Robots.txt Tester Tool

Test your robots.txt file and ensure it's correctly configured for search engines.

How to Use the Robots.txt Tester Tool?

The Semust Robots.txt Tester allows you to check the robots.txt file of your own website or any other site. You can follow the steps below to perform this check.

1. Enter the Site Address

To check your robots.txt file for free with Semust, enter the robots.txt URL into the box.

2. Check for Errors

When the analysis is complete, a new page will open. On this page, you will see a free robots.txt analysis.

Why Should Robots.txt Be Checked?

The robots.txt file contains important rules that instruct Google and other search engines on how to crawl and index your site. If incorrect rules are added to your robots.txt file, your site may not be crawled and may lose its index in search engines. This can lead to a significant loss of traffic and visibility.

Frequently Asked Questions About Robots.txt

How to View Robots.txt?

To view a website's robots.txt file, you can access it by typing /robots.txt at the end of your site address in your browser's address bar. This file specifies which parts of a website should or should not be crawled by search engine bots or other crawlers. By reading the file's content, you can learn which pages specific bots are allowed or disallowed from accessing.

How to Create Robots.txt?

A robots.txt file can be created using a text editor (e.g., Notepad or Visual Studio Code). The file is configured with a User-agent command for each bot, followed by Disallow and Allow commands. For example:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /private/
Allow: /public/

This example prevents all visiting bots (*) from crawling the /private/ directory while allowing them to crawl the /public/ directory. After the robots.txt file is created, it should be uploaded to your website's main directory via FTP. It must be located in the root directory of your site, meaning it should be accessible as https://yourwebsite.com/robots.txt.

What is a Robots.txt Test?

A robots.txt test is a process to check if your website's robots.txt file is working correctly. Semust offers a free tool to perform this test, which is used to determine if a specific bot is allowed to access a particular page. By using a dedicated robots.txt tester tool, you can check the structure of your file and verify that you are correctly restricting bot access to specific pages.

What Does Robots.txt Do?

The robots.txt file is used to manage search engine bot traffic by preventing or allowing them to crawl selected parts of your website. This file is commonly used to protect private pages or sections you do not want to appear in search results. For example, you can use the robots.txt file to block areas like admin panels, pages under development, or temporary files from being crawled by search engines.

What Does the Disallow Command in Robots.txt Mean?

The Disallow command in a robots.txt file prevents a specific bot from crawling a particular page or directory. For example:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /blog/

In this example, the statement Disallow: /blog/ prevents all bots (User-agent: *) from crawling the /blog/ directory. This command is used to prevent specific content from being added to search engine indexes. For example, it can be used for pages containing sensitive information or temporarily created content. However, we do not recommend blocking your blog posts.