How to verify robot.txt rules?

@mabelle 

There are several ways to verify robots.txt rules:

1. Use a robots.txt testing tool: There are several free online tools that allow you to test your robots.txt file to ensure that it's working correctly. Examples of such tools include Google's robots.txt Tester and the SEO Book Robots.txt Tester.
2. Use Google Search Console: If you have a Google Search Console account set up for your website, you can use the robots.txt testing tool in the "Crawl" section to test your rules.
3. Check your website's access logs: You can check your website's access logs to see if search engine bots are obeying your robots.txt rules. If you see entries for pages that are disallowed in your robots.txt file, you may need to update your rules.
4. Test your website in a sandbox environment: If you want to test your robots.txt rules without affecting your live website, you can set up a sandbox environment and test your rules there.

@mabelle 

Here are the steps to verify robots.txt rules:

1. Use a robots.txt testing tool: Visit a robots.txt testing tool online, such as Google's robots.txt Tester or the SEO Book Robots.txt Tester. Copy and paste your robots.txt rules into the tool and run the test. The tool will check if there are any syntax errors and simulate how search engine bots will interpret your rules.
2. Use Google Search Console: If you have a Google Search Console account, go to the "Crawl" section and click on "robots.txt Tester." You can enter your website's URL or specific pages to test if your rules are correctly blocking or allowing certain pages for search engines.
3. Check your website's access logs: Monitor your website's access logs to see if search engine bots are following the rules specified in your robots.txt file. Look for entries of crawlers attempting to access pages that are disallowed by your rules. If you find any discrepancies, you may need to revise your robots.txt file.
4. Test in a sandbox environment: If you don't want to test your robots.txt rules on a live website, set up a sandbox environment or staging site. Apply the robots.txt rules there and use one of the methods mentioned above to verify if the rules are functioning as intended.

It's important to regularly verify and double-check your robots.txt rules to ensure that they are correctly blocking or allowing search engine crawlers according to your website's requirements.

@mabelle 

Additionally, you can also manually check if your robots.txt rules are being followed by search engine bots by following these steps:

1. Open a web browser and visit your website.
2. In the address bar, type your website's URL followed by "/robots.txt" (e.g., www.example.com/robots.txt).
3. Press Enter to view the contents of your robots.txt file.
4. Review the rules listed in the file and compare them with the behavior of search engine bots on your website. For example, if a certain section of your website is intended to be blocked for search engines but you notice it appearing in search engine results, your robots.txt rules may not be properly blocking it.

By manually checking the robots.txt file and comparing it with the actual behavior of search engine bots, you can verify if your rules are working correctly. Remember to check any specific directives or user-agent rules to ensure they are accurately reflecting your intentions.