Website owners create the Robots.txt file to tell the search engine crawlers where they can go on their websites. So, before creating this htaccess rules file, it’s essential to know how to write a robots.txt file in Yoast SEO.
The first step to creating a robots.txt file in Yoast SEO is to log in to your WordPress site. Afterward, click on the Yoast SEO > Tools > File Editor options.
Then click on the “Create robots.txt file” option. Now your next job is to write your robots.txt file. And you are done with the file writing process in Yoast SEO.
While writing a robots.txt file in Yoast SEO, if you make any mistake, it can cause serious harm to your website. So, it’s crucial for you to learn and understand this comprehensive guide before you start the process.
Now, let’s dive into the following discussion to learn how to write the robots.txt file.
Definition Of Robots.txt File
The robots.txt file guide the search engine or other systems regarding where it is allowed to go or reach on your website. It is a text file format read by search engines. Robots Exclusion Protocol is another name for the robots.txt file.
This file comes from the early search engine developer’s consensus. Your websites on the internet communicate with search engine crawlers or different bots through the Robots.txt file. This file tells the search engine crawlers about the accessible URLs on your website.
For example, for the logged-in members, there can be a private section on your site. Using the robots.txt file, you can exclude your site’s that portion from being crawled, accessed, or indexed. In this case, typically, you can exclude a subfolder or subdomain. Another example is you can use robots.txt on your eCommerce website to exclude your checkout and cart pages.
How To Write A Robots.txt File In Yoast SEO?
Through Yoast SEO, you can write the robots.txt file in the WordPress Dashboard the easiest way. The quick and straightforward writing steps are:
- Log In Your Website: First off, start the robots.txt file writing process by logging into your WordPress website. After logging into your site, navigate to your “Dashboard.”
- Click On “Yoast SEO”: In the admin menu, you will find “Yoast SEO.” Click on it.
- Click On Tools: Several options are available among the “Yoast SEO.” From all those options, click on “Tools.”
- Click On File Editor: Now, your next step is to click on the option “File Editor.” File Editor is an essential tool that allows you to change crucial files quickly for your SEO, like the robots.txt file.
However, if the WordPress install has disabled file editing, this menu will not appear. Through the FTP, edit the file or enable file editing. If you don’t know how to use the FTP, you can get help from your host provider.
- Create Robots.txt File: In this step, you will get a message that you don’t have any robots.txt file, generate one here. Under this message, there will be a box showing “Create robots.txt file.” You have to click on that button.
- Edit Or View The File Created By Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO will add directions to the file by default. And you will receive those directions. Also, here you can edit the files.
How Does The Robots.txt File Work?
By crawling the pages on your website, the search engines will index it on the web. During crawling, search engines discover and follow the links. As a result, they reach site A to site B to site c, etc. But the search engine, before visiting any pages on a domain, opens the robots.txt file of that domain.
By opening the robots.txt file of the domain, they can learn which URLs on your site are allowed to visit and which are not. Then the search engine index or crawls only the accessible URLs.
Why Do You Need The Robots.txt File For Your WordPress Site?
The search engines will index and crawl your website even if your site doesn’t have the robots.txt file. But now the question is why you require this text file for your site. The thing is, without a robots.txt file, search engines will index your site. But you will fail to tell the search engines which folders or pages they should not index or crawl.
If you are starting your blog for the first time, this will have less impact on your website. Usually, the new site has less content. And not having the robots.txt file creates less effect. But when your site grows and there is a lot of content, you should write it. It will help you to have better control over your website.
For each website, the search bots have a specific crawl quota. It means that the search bots crawl a particular number of pages during the crawl session. If they don’t finish your site’s all pages crawling, they will come back again. And in the next session, the search engine starts crawling your site again. This process can slow down the indexing rate of your website.
So, with the help of robots.txt, you can fix this problem and disallow the search bot to crawl your site’s unnecessary pages. Indexing the plugin files, WordPress admin pages, and themes folder is not necessary. Save your site’s crawl quota by disallowing the crawling of unimportant pages.
As a result, search engines will index more pages on your site by crawling them more quickly. So, the most important reason for using robots.txt is to stop search engines from crawling your website’s unnecessary pages.
However, hiding your content from the general public is not the safest way. But using robots.txt will prevent the appearance of content in the search results.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Where Do I Put Robots.txt Files?
Once you are done creating or writing your robots.txt file, it’s time to save it. Upload and save this text file at your site’s root directly.
Does robots.txt increase site speed?
Robots.txt doesn’t push your page higher directly in the SERPs. But it plays a crucial role in making your website efficient and tidy.
What is the limit of a robot.txt file?
Currently, Google enforces 500 Kibibytes (KiB) size limit for your robots.txt file.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, after going through the above article, you will know how to write a robots.txt file in Yoast SEO. Through the robots.txt file, you can tell the search engine where to go and not to go on your website. So creating this text file in Yoast SEO is essential.
The robots.txt file offers some basic functionality. And all the search engines support that. However, some search engines can respond to some additional rules. But these are helpful too.
Now here is the end of this comprehensive guide. If you have any queries, you can comment in the comment box. Soon we will reply to you.
