# SEO: Robots.txt and Search Engines

**URL:** <https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/seo-robots-txt-and-search-engines/53648>\
**Category:** Elements\
**Created:** [January 15, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/seo-robots-txt-and-search-engines/53648 "2026-01-15T16:41:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dan](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/dan/32/28516_2.png) [@dan](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/dan)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/seo-robots-txt-and-search-engines/53648/1 "2026-01-15T16:41:55Z")

</div>

If your site doesn’t already have a `robots.txt` file, it’s generally a good idea to add one. It helps search engines understand how to crawl your site and is considered a basic best practice for getting listed properly in Google.

That said, it’s also worth being cautious about _customising_ it. A badly configured robots.txt can accidentally block pages or assets you actually want indexed.

There’s a great article by Alan W Smith that explains why keeping robots.txt simple is usually the smartest approach:  
👉 [Fix Your robots.txt or Your Site Disappears from Google](https://www.alanwsmith.com/en/37/wa/jz/s1/)

If you’re using Elements, our documentation walks through how to add a simple `robots.txt` file to your website step by step.  
👉 [Robots.txt | RapidWeaver Elements Docs](https://docs.realmacsoftware.com/elements-docs/elements/advanced/robots.txt)