@hanna
Additionally, here are some best practices to further optimize your website's meta robots:
- Use specific directives: Instead of using broad directives like "index" or "nofollow" for all pages, use more specific directives on a page-by-page basis. For example, you can use "noindex, follow" to exclude a page from indexing but still allow search engines to follow the links on that page.
- Use the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header: In addition to using the "robots" meta tag, you can also use the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header to communicate instructions to search engine crawlers. This can be helpful if you have pages that do not have an HTML meta tag, such as PDFs or other file types.
- Use robots.txt file: The robots.txt file is another way to control how search engines access and crawl your website. Use this file to specify which areas or files should or should not be crawled. However, note that the robots.txt file does not guarantee that search engines will follow the instructions, so it should be used in conjunction with the "robots" meta tag or X-Robots-Tag header.
- Avoid duplicate content: Ensure that you're not inadvertently creating duplicate content issues by properly handling pages with similar content. Use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of the page, and set proper redirects when necessary.
- Crawlability and site structure: Ensure that your website has a logical and crawlable structure so that search engine bots can easily navigate and index your pages. Use internal linking to guide crawlers to important pages, and ensure that your website's navigation is easily understandable and accessible.
- Monitor crawl errors: Regularly monitor your website's crawl errors through tools like Google Search Console. This will help you identify any issues that may be impacting your website's search visibility.
By implementing these practices and regularly monitoring your website's meta robots settings, you can optimize your website for better search engine indexing.