If you are someone who takes Search Engine Optimization (SEO) seriously, you would most likely want to know about adding a Sitemap to the Robots.TXT file.
While these two are separate Files for different purposes, their relation may affect how Google treats your Blog content.
Especially, when it comes to Google Bots, crawling your site is greatly affected by rules you put together inside Sitemap and Robots.TXT files.
In this article, we are going to learn – how both Files may build a relationship and, why should we add Sitemap to the Robots.TXT file.
Here is a brief list of what you can expect to come from this article. You can also click on the Links if you want to jump to the specific answer parts within this page.
Table of Content
Let’s start exploring the above topics in more detail.
What is a Sitemap?
A Sitemap is a type of XML file on a website Root in most cases. As its name suggests, a Sitemap file holds the entire list of Links created on a website.
For example, a Sitemap file contains all the links to Pages and Posts on a website. A Sitemap file retrieves quick information from Search Engines like Google. Once a Sitemap is crawled by a Search Engine, you can let them index the content of your website.
As for as Search Engine visibility is critical, a Sitemap file plays an important role in expanding your site’s reach on Search Engines. No matter how much your website is populated, a Search Engine can quickly obtain links from your Sitemap file.
Introduction to Robots.TXT
Robots.TXT file on a site’s Root also works in a similar but different manner as the Sitemap does in this case. A Robots.TXT file holds information to instruct Search Engines about crawling your website.
For example, by using the Robots.TXT file, you can let a Search Engine crawl or avoid a specific part of your website, such as sensitive files hosted in the Root directory of your website.
You can create Robots.TXT and Sitemap files by using online Free Tools available on Google. Although creating such Files requires manual development or coding, using Online Tools can play well for beginners.
Why add Sitemap to Robots.TXT?
As the Robots.TXT file is reached and assessed by Search Engine Bots first of all other documents on a website, adding Sitemap to the Robots.TXT file helps you quickly let Search Engines about your site’s LINK structure.
In simple words, by adding your site’s Sitemap to the Robots.TXT file, you can let Google raise awareness about your site’s resources and their locations. However, it is not a mandatory routine for most Bloggers.
Also, you can always submit a Sitemap in the Google Search Console to let Google know about your site’s Link structure. In the same manner, you can also always edit the Robots.TXT file to add your site’s Sitemap file address.
A Robots.TXT file weighs the importance of Search Engines. When crawling a website, a Search Engine determines instructions given in a Robots.TXT file. The instructions help Search Engines quickly identify, what resources they can deny or proceed to crawl on a particular website.
Please note, that you can include the link to Sitemap in the Robots.TXT file. However, the reverse is not True.
For beginners, it is not recommended to play with a Robots.TXT file. Because a single instance That prevents Google from crawling your website may affect the entire site if you are not aware of what you are doing.
In this case, if you know how to manage your Blog with Google Search Console, you don’t need to submit a Sitemap’s URL in the Robots.TXT file. It is not a standard, a normal routine though, which helps Bloggers quickly let Google know about your site links’ structure.
Wrapping up
That’s it.
Including a Sitemap’s address in the Robots.TXT file helps Bloggers and website owners instruct Search Engines Bots, but the process is not mandatory in any case.
By including a Sitemap in the Robots.TXT file, we mean to include and save a Robots.TXT file with a Sitemap’s link to your website.
Last but not least, the Robots.TXT file controls how Search Engines should crawl and index your website. So, taking care of Technical aspects while editing a Robots.TXT file weighs equal importance to the site’s SEO.