Blogger crawler control

Blogger Robots.txt Generator

Build a custom robots.txt starting point for Blogger only when you have a deliberate crawl policy to implement. Blogger already serves default robots.txt behavior, so custom rules should be reviewed as an override rather than treated as a required SEO setting.

Most Blogger sites do not need custom robots.txt

Blogger's own settings documentation says that enabling custom robots.txt makes your custom text replace the default robots.txt content. If you do not have a specific crawl problem to solve, leaving the platform default in place is the safer starting point.

Choose your editing mode

Simple mode is safer for quick setup. Advanced mode exposes every crawler group and rule.

Crawler purpose policy

Start neutral, then opt in to AI crawler restrictions only when they match your policy.

Neutral default: keep search, AI search and AI-control crawlers open unless your path rules explicitly block them.

Paths to block

Start with a suggested path or add your own. Only block paths that you intentionally want compliant crawlers to avoid.

Suggested paths

Add custom path

Add any site path. Bare paths get a leading slash; full HTTP(S) URLs are reduced to their path and query.

Search

Allowed by default

AI Search

Allowed by default

AI Control / Training

Allowed by default

Before you publish

  1. 1. Generate
    Review the live output.
  2. 2. Validate
    Check syntax and compatibility.
  3. 3. Test URLs
    Verify important paths and crawlers.
  4. 4. Publish
    Upload it as /robots.txt at your site root.

Generated robots.txt

Live output; generation and validation stay in your browser.

User-agent: *Disallow: /searchDisallow: /search/label/
0 errors0 warnings0 notes

No syntax or compatibility warnings detected.

What the Blogger preset is trying to control

Blogger commonly exposes search and label-result URLs that are different from normal post and page URLs. The preset starts with conservative search-path blocks so you can review those patterns, but it is still only a starting point for your own blog.

Search-result URLs

The preset includes /search so compliant crawlers avoid Blogger search-result paths. Verify the exact URLs your theme and navigation create before keeping or broadening the rule.

Label-result URLs

Blogger label pages commonly sit under /search/label/. Test a real label URL and a normal post URL before publishing so a broad pattern does not catch content you want crawled.

Posts and pages

Your primary posts and standalone pages should remain crawlable unless you intentionally have a different policy. Test at least one representative URL from each content type.

Sitemap directive

Use the sitemap URL the production blog actually serves. Avoid copying old Atom-feed or mobile-parameter examples from unrelated tutorials without first checking the live URL.

How to use custom robots.txt in Blogger

  1. 1

    Decide whether you need an override

    If Blogger's default behavior already matches your crawl policy, do not enable a custom file just because an SEO tutorial provides one.

  2. 2

    Generate and review the rules

    Confirm every blocked path against URLs that actually exist on your blog. Remove rules you cannot explain.

  3. 3

    Open Crawlers and indexing

    In Blogger Settings, enable custom robots.txt only when you are ready to replace the platform default with the reviewed text.

  4. 4

    Test before and after saving

    Check a post, page, label URL, search URL, and sitemap. After saving, inspect the live /robots.txt response as well.

Official platform reference: Blogger Help — Manage your blog's settings. See the Crawlers and indexing section for custom robots.txt and custom robots header tags.

Custom robots.txt and custom robots header tags are separate

Blogger exposes separate controls for custom robots.txt and custom robots header tags. A robots.txt Disallow rule controls crawler access to matching paths; a robots indexing directive is a different control.

Do not use a crawl block as a substitute for an indexing decision. If a page must be crawlable so a search engine can see an indexing directive, blocking that same URL in robots.txt can work against the goal.

Read robots.txt vs. noindex →

Blogger URLs to test before publishing

Home page

/

Should normally remain crawlable

Recent post

/YYYY/MM/post-slug.html

Confirm a normal article is not caught by a broad rule

Standalone page

/p/page-slug.html

Confirm static pages remain accessible when intended

Label results

/search/label/example

Check whether your chosen search/label policy is applied

Search results

/search?q=example

Verify search-result crawling matches your policy

Sitemap

/sitemap.xml

Verify the real sitemap URL loads and is not blocked

Test Blogger URLsValidate the fileCheck live robots.txt

Blogger robots.txt FAQ

Do I need to enable custom robots.txt in Blogger?

Usually not. Blogger already provides default behavior. Enable a custom file only when you have a specific crawl policy to apply and you are prepared to test the replacement rules.

Does custom robots.txt replace Blogger's default?

Yes. Blogger's settings documentation describes the custom text as being used instead of the default robots.txt content, which is why copying an unreviewed template can create crawl problems.

Should I block /search on Blogger?

It can be reasonable to keep internal search and label-result paths out of crawl queues, but confirm the URLs your own blog uses and test normal posts and pages before keeping a broad rule.

Can robots.txt stop a Blogger URL from being indexed?

robots.txt primarily controls crawling. Indexing controls are separate, and blocking a URL can prevent a crawler from seeing a page-level indexing directive.