Glossary term
What is robots.txt?
Short answer
Robots.txt is a small file on your website that tells search engine crawlers which parts of the site they may or may not visit.
robots.txt, explained for tree service owners
Before a search engine reads your site, it checks a file called robots.txt. In it you can ask crawlers to skip certain areas, such as admin pages or private folders. It is a request, not a lock, so never use it to hide private information. The most common mistake is a leftover rule that blocks the whole site, usually from the time it was being built. Then no pages show in Google, and the owner has no idea why. If your tree service site is not showing up, ask your web builder to check this file first. A correct robots.txt can also point to your sitemap.
Related terms
- sitemap
A sitemap is a file that lists the pages of your website so search engines can find and read all of them.
- anchor text
Anchor text is the clickable words in a link, and it gives search engines a hint about what the linked page is about.
- Arborist
Arborist is a trained tree care professional who plans and performs work on trees, including pruning, removal, tree health care and…
- Booking link
Booking link is a web address that lets a customer pick a time for an estimate or job online, without calling. It can be sent by text or…
- bounce rate
Bounce rate is the share of visits where a person lands on one page and leaves without doing anything else.
- canonical URL
A canonical URL is the main web address you tell search engines to treat as the official version of a page.
- Certified arborist
Certified arborist is a tree care professional who has passed an exam and holds a credential from the ISA, the International Society of…
- Click-to-call
Click-to-call is a button or link on a website or online listing that starts a phone call with one tap, so a mobile visitor does not…
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