Google's New Search Snippets Blocked By Robots.txt Warning

Aug 16, 2012 - 8:23 am 35 by

A description for this result is not available because of this site's robots.txt

Google is showing a more descriptive search snippet for when it cannot show any search snippet in the search results.

If a page is being blocked by the robots.txt file, Google won't show the search snippet (description) in the search results. Google may show the page in the search results because of the linkage data it has. The example in the picture above is the only URL I have blocked from Google indexing it. I regret writing it, but also would regret removing it, so I blocked it from Google.

If you try to match on it within Google, it turns the notification:

A description for this result is not available because of this site's robots.txt – learn more.

The learn more link goes to the page named Block or remove pages using a robots.txt file in Google's help section.

I think this provides a much better search experience for someone who sees these blocked pages.

I do wonder if they show up for non site: command searches, I'd assume so.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Console Reporting Change Since 100 Results Broke

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:51 am
Bing Search

Bing Places Update Coming Soon: Navigation, Experience & More

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

PSA: Most Third Party Google Search Tracking Tools Are Broken

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:31 am
Search Engine Optimization

Structured Data Does Not Help With Visibility In AI Search

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google News

FTC Investigating Google Over Ad Pricing & Terms On Websites

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:11 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

No, Google Search Console Did Not Add An AI Overviews Filter

Sep 15, 2025 - 7:02 am
 
Previous Story: Email Delivery Bug With Google Webmaster Tools Messages