Google Revamps Webmaster Tools Robots.txt Tester Tool

Jul 17, 2014 - 7:45 am 1 by

Google Webmaster ToolsGoogle announced that they've updated the Robots.txt tester tool within Google Webmaster Tools.

The tool adds three things:

(1) Highlights which line in your robots.txt file is blocking a specific page.

(2) Make test changes to the robots.txt tool and test it before you make the file live.

(3) Google will also show you older versions of your robots.txt file to see past issues.

Here is a test showing you how it highlights the single story I block from search engines on this site:

click for full size

This a view of the history of my robots.txt file:

Google Robots.txt Tester Tool History

Google also issues a subtle hint to try the fetch and render tool again and stop blocking stuff from Google.

Forum discussion at Google+.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: March 6, 2026

Mar 6, 2026 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Heat Continues, AI Mode Recipe Link Cards, ChatGPT Web Search With Fewer Links & AI-Generated Search Landing Pages

Mar 6, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Most Sites Don't Need To Disavow Links But That's Not All Sites

Mar 6, 2026 - 7:51 am
Bing Search

Bing Search Tests Go To Shopping Button

Mar 6, 2026 - 7:41 am
Bing Ads

Bing With Asian Owned Labels On Microsoft Ads

Mar 6, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Ads

Google Local Service Ads Won't Credit Calls For Existing Clients (Not Lead)

Mar 6, 2026 - 7:21 am
 
Previous Story: Google's Matt Cutts Was A Passenger In A Self Driving Car