Robots.txt Directive "Humanizer"

Don't let a misplaced * break your crawl. Paste your directive below to translate it into plain English instantly.

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Robots.txt Symbol Cheat Sheet

*
Wildcard: Matches any sequence of characters.
$
End Anchor: Forces the match to the very end of the URL path.
/
Directory: Designates root or folder paths.
#
Comments: Notes for humans that bots skip.

Can I share one Robots.txt across subdomains?

NO. Each subdomain is a separate host. robots.txt files are not shared; you must upload a specific file to the root of every subdomain (e.g., https://blog.yoursite.com/robots.txt).

Common Issues: The Query String Pitfall

Blocking ? too broadly (e.g., Disallow: /*?) is a major technical risk. It can prevent bots from crawling vital CSS/JS files or images that use query parameters for cache-busting, leading to rendering issues in search engines.

Technical SEO Guide: Robots.txt FAQ

Does robots.txt stop a page from appearing in search results?

No. It only controls crawling, not indexing. If Google finds links to a blocked page elsewhere on the web, it can still index the URL even if it can't read the page content.

Why do some bots ignore my robots.txt file?

Robots.txt is a "voluntary" protocol. While reputable search engines honor it, aggressive scrapers or rogue AI bots often bypass these rules.

How does robots.txt help my "Crawl Budget"?

It prevents bots from wasting time on low-value pages like internal search results, filter combinations, or admin panels, focusing their energy on your important pages instead.