Robots and Sitemap Checks

Robots and Sitemap file checks are essential for search engine optimisation (SEO). These files tell search engines which pages on your website they can and cannot crawl.

Using Robots.txt and Sitemap.xml files can be confusing for non-technical users. This is where our team comes in. As part of your website care plan, we will review your Robots.txt and Sitemap.xml files monthly to ensure they are up-to-date and accurate. This ensures search engines index your website and that your content is found by potential customers.

In addition to doing robots and sitemap file checks, we will also block bad robots. Bad robots are automated scripts that can damage your website or steal your data. We use a variety of techniques to block bad robots, including IP blocking, honeypots, and CAPTCHAs.

By performing robots and sitemap file checks, you can improve your website’s SEO and protect it from bad robots. This will help you attract more visitors to your site and boost your bottom line.

Checking your WordPress website robots.txt for SEO

A robots.txt file is a text file that tells search engine bots which pages on your website they should crawl and which they should not. This gives you control over how search engines index your website, which can significantly impact your SEO.

Here are some specific examples of how a robots.txt file can improve SEO:

• You can use it to prevent search engines from crawling pages under construction. Robots.txt can also help to prevent crawling pages containing sensitive information. This can help to protect your website from spam and other malicious activity.
• You can use it to prioritise certain pages for crawling. This can help ensure that your most important pages are indexed first, improving your chances of ranking well in search results.
• You can use it to exclude certain pages from search engines indexing them. This can be useful if you have pages that you don’t want to see in search results. These pages may contain duplicate content or pages that are not yet ready to go live.

Overall, a robots.txt file is a powerful tool one can use to improve their SEO. As part of your website care plan, we will set up your robots.txt file with Yoast SEO. We will also check to make sure that it is working properly.

Create your robots.txt

Contents of your robots.txt

Inspecting a WordPress website XML sitemap for SEO

A WordPress sitemap is a list of all the public URLs on your website in XML format. It tells search engines which pages on your website they should index. It also includes information about each page, such as when it was last updated and how often it changes.

An XML sitemap is not required but is one of the SEO best practices. This is because it can help search engines crawl your website more efficiently.

If search engines can’t crawl your website, they won’t be able to index it. And if they can’t index it, they won’t rank it.

Making sure your XML sitemap is working correctly is especially important for:

• Websites that are new or don’t have many backlinks. This is because search engines may not be able to find these websites on their own, and an XML sitemap can help them find and index these websites.
• Websites with a large number of pages (more than 500). This is because it can be difficult for search engines to crawl and index all of these pages without an XML sitemap.
• Websites with many media files (like images and videos). This is because search engines may not be able to find these files on their own, and an XML sitemap can help them find and index these files.
• Websites with weak internal linking. This is because internal linking helps search engines crawl and index your website. An XML sitemap can help supplement your internal linking strategy.

Sitemap.xml file errors

Once we have created your sitemap, we use a website crawler tool to test for any errors or inconsistencies. This is important because a sitemap that is not formatted correctly or contains errors can prevent search engines from crawling and indexing your website.

Some common sitemap errors include:

• Search engines fail to detect the sitemap.
• The sitemap has format errors.
• The sitemap contains incorrect pages.
• The sitemap file is too large.

If we find any errors in your sitemap, we will fix them. This will ensure that search engines index your website and that it is visible to potential visitors.

Search Engine Optimisation Tool to validate your XML sitemaps

We will set up and maintain your XML sitemap as part of your website care plan. We also submit your sitemap to Google Search Console. This is not mandatory but can help Google discover and crawl your site more quickly. It can take some time for Google to process your sitemap, so be patient.

In conclusion, doing robots and sitemap checks for your website is essential for your website as it can significantly boost your SEO.

Our WordPress care plans are designed to help you keep your website up and running. We ensure it runs smoothly, securely, and compliant with the latest industry standards. We offer a variety of plans to fit your needs and budget.

Our team of experts is available to answer any questions you have about our WordPress care plans. We are ready to help you with any technical issues you may be experiencing with your website. Get in touch with us today.