How to optimize WordPress robots.txt for SEO?

@mabelle 

To optimize the WordPress robots.txt file for SEO, follow these steps:

1. Locate the robots.txt file: Log in to your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Reading, and ensure the "Search Engine Visibility" option is unchecked. Then, access your website's root folder via FTP or the file manager in your hosting control panel. Look for the robots.txt file.
2. Edit the robots.txt file: Open the robots.txt file using a text editor. If the file does not exist, create a new text file and save it as "robots.txt".
3. Allow search engine crawlers: Add the following lines at the beginning of the file to allow search engines full access to your website:

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User-agent: *
Disallow:

1. Block areas not relevant for SEO: Certain areas of your website may not be necessary for search engine indexing or may contain duplicate content. You can disallow such areas in the robots.txt file using the "Disallow" directive. For example, if you want to block a directory called "private", add the following line:

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Disallow: /private/

1. Handle duplicate content and thin pages: If there are pages with thin or duplicate content that you don't want to be indexed, specify them in the robots.txt file. For instance, if you have a page called "example-page" that you want to block:

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Disallow: /example-page/

1. Allow or disallow specific bots: You can specifically allow or disallow certain search engine bots from crawling your website using their respective user-agent names. For example, to disallow a bot called "BadBot":

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User-agent: BadBot
Disallow: /

1. Test your robots.txt file: After making changes, it's crucial to test the file to ensure it works as expected. Many SEO tools provide free robots.txt testing tools you can use to verify the accessibility or blocking of specific URLs.
2. Submit the updated robots.txt to search engines: When you are satisfied with the changes, submit the updated robots.txt file to the major search engines for indexing, or wait for the crawlers to discover the changes naturally.

Remember to backup the original robots.txt file before making any changes, and consult with an SEO professional if you have specific concerns or requirements for your website.