
Robots.txt Configuration Guide: A Beginner’s Handbook to Optimizing Crawl Efficiency
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can feel like an ever-shifting labyrinth, but every site owner can master one fundamental file: robots.txt. Think of it as your website’s gatekeeper, directing search engine spiders where to crawl—and equally importantly—where not to crawl. A properly configured robots.txt ensures that Googlebot, Baiduspider, and their peers focus on your most valuable pages and ignore the low-value or sensitive ones. In this guide, we’ll walk through what robots.txt is, explore common rookie mistakes, reveal advanced tips to optimize crawl budget, and share practical check-and-fix methods to keep your file in top shape. 1. What Is robots.txt? The Digital Gatekeeper At its core, robots.txt is a plain text file stored in the root directory (e.g., https://example.com/robots.txt) that instructs...