A robots.txt file in Blogger tells search engine crawlers which parts of your website they are allowed or not allowed to crawl.
Blogger automatically generates a robots.txt file for your blog, so most websites do not need to create a custom one manually.
However, Blogger also provides a Custom robots.txt setting for advanced situations where you genuinely need to change crawler access.
This guide explains how to view your Blogger robots.txt file, how to add custom rules safely, what common directives mean and which robots.txt mistakes can cause crawling and indexing problems.
What Is Robots.txt in Blogger?
Robots.txt is a text file located at the root of your website.
For example:
https://www.example.com/robots.txtThe file contains instructions for automated crawlers such as Googlebot.
A basic robots.txt rule can look like:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /searchIn this example:
User-agent: *applies the rule to crawlers generally.Disallow: /searchtells them not to crawl URLs beginning with/search.
Robots.txt primarily manages crawler access. It should not be treated as a tool for forcing pages into or out of Google's index.
Does Blogger Already Have a Robots.txt File?
Yes. Blogger automatically generates a robots.txt file even when:
Enable custom robots.txt → OFFYou can check the current file by opening:
https://www.example.com/robots.txtReplace example.com with your Blogger custom domain or Blogspot address.
Because Blogger already generates this file, you should not enable a custom robots.txt simply because an SEO tutorial tells you that every website needs one.
Should You Enable Custom Robots.txt in Blogger?
For most Blogger websites, leave custom robots.txt disabled.
The default Blogger configuration is generally sufficient for normal blogs, tutorial websites and content sites.
A custom robots.txt becomes useful only when you have a clear crawling requirement and understand exactly which URLs you want to allow or block.
Before changing anything, ask:
- Which URLs am I trying to stop crawlers from accessing?
- Why should those URLs not be crawled?
- Could the rule accidentally match important posts or pages?
- Am I actually trying to prevent indexing rather than crawling?
If you cannot answer those questions clearly, keep Blogger's default configuration.
How to Add Custom Robots.txt in Blogger
If you genuinely need custom crawler rules, go to:
Blogger → Settings → Crawlers and indexingFind:
Enable custom robots.txtThen:
- Turn Enable custom robots.txt ON.
- Open the Custom robots.txt field.
- Enter your robots.txt rules.
- Save the changes.
- Open
/robots.txton your website and verify the result.
Important: Blogger uses your custom text instead of its default robots.txt output when this option is enabled, so do not enable it without understanding the replacement configuration.
Check the Default Blogger Robots.txt Before Changing It
Before creating custom rules, open your existing file:
https://www.example.com/robots.txtReview what Blogger is currently generating.
If you must customize it, use the existing file as a reference and change only the crawler behavior you actually need.
Avoid copying robots.txt code from another Blogger website because its domain, sitemap configuration and crawling requirements may be different from yours.
Common Robots.txt Directives Explained
User-agent
The User-agent directive specifies which crawler the following rules apply to.
User-agent: *The asterisk means the rule applies generally to crawlers that recognize robots.txt.
Disallow
The Disallow directive identifies paths a crawler should not access.
Disallow: /searchAllow
The Allow directive can explicitly permit crawling of a path.
Allow: /Sitemap
A robots.txt file can also reference an XML sitemap:
Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xmlAlways use the correct domain for your own website.
Example Blogger Robots.txt Structure
The following is an illustrative structure, not a universal configuration that every Blogger website should copy:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /search
Allow: /
Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xmlYou must replace:
https://www.example.com/with your actual canonical domain.
More importantly, do not use this example merely because it looks SEO-friendly. Check your current Blogger-generated robots.txt first and only customize it when you need behavior different from Blogger's default.
Should Blogger Search and Label Pages Be Blocked?
Blogger can generate search and label URLs under paths such as:
/search
/search/label/SEOThese pages often aggregate content that already exists on individual post URLs.
Blogger's default crawler configuration may already manage search-related URLs, so there is generally no need to create new custom rules solely to block them.
If you change this behavior, first understand how your theme, robots header tags and indexing strategy work together.
Do Not Use Robots.txt to Noindex Blogger Pages
A common SEO mistake is trying to place:
Noindex: /example-pageinside robots.txt.
Google does not support robots.txt noindex rules.
If you want an HTML page excluded from Google Search, the crawler generally needs to be allowed to access that page and see a robots directive such as:
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">Blogger also provides custom robots tags for page-level indexing control.
Blocking a URL in robots.txt can actually prevent Google from crawling the page and seeing its noindex instruction.
Robots.txt vs Robots Meta Tags
| Control | Main Purpose |
|---|---|
| robots.txt | Controls crawler access to URL paths |
| robots meta tag | Controls indexing and search-result behavior for an HTML page |
This distinction is important.
If your goal is:
Don't crawl this URLrobots.txt may be appropriate.
If your goal is:
Don't show this page in Google Searcha noindex directive is normally the relevant control.
Do Not Block Important Blogger Resources
Avoid robots.txt rules that block resources Google may need to understand or render your pages.
Be particularly careful with broad rules that could affect:
- Published posts
- Static pages
- Theme resources
- Images
- CSS
- JavaScript
A rule such as:
Disallow: /is especially dangerous because it tells crawlers not to crawl the entire website.
Do not use broad blocking rules unless that is genuinely your intention.
How to Check Whether Robots.txt Is Blocking a Blogger Post
If an important Blogger post is not appearing in Google, inspect it through:
Google Search Console → URL InspectionSearch Console can help identify whether Googlebot was prevented from crawling the page.
You can also inspect:
https://www.example.com/robots.txtand look for a Disallow rule matching the affected URL.
If Search Console reports:
Blocked by robots.txtand the page should be crawlable, review your custom robots.txt configuration.
For broader indexing troubleshooting, see our guide to Blogger posts not showing in Google Search.
How to Restore Blogger's Default Robots.txt
If you enabled custom robots.txt and are unsure whether your rules are correct, you can return to Blogger's default behavior.
Go to:
Blogger → Settings → Crawlers and indexingTurn:
Enable custom robots.txt → OFFBlogger can then generate its normal robots.txt configuration again.
After making the change, allow search engines time to revisit your robots.txt file and recrawl affected URLs.
Should You Enable Custom Robots Header Tags Too?
Custom robots.txt and custom robots header tags are different settings.
Do not assume that enabling one means you should enable the other.
Blogger's robots header settings can control indexing directives for categories of pages, so incorrect configuration can prevent important URLs from being indexed.
For most Blogger websites, leave advanced robots controls at their defaults unless you have a specific SEO requirement.
See our Blogger SEO settings guide for the wider crawlers and indexing configuration.
Does Robots.txt Improve Blogger SEO?
Adding custom robots.txt rules does not provide a direct ranking boost.
The purpose of robots.txt is crawler management.
For Blogger SEO, your priorities should usually be:
- Useful content
- Correct indexing settings
- Canonical URLs
- Internal linking
- XML sitemaps
- Mobile-friendly design
- Good page performance
A robots.txt file is useful when you genuinely need crawler control, but unnecessary custom rules can create more problems than they solve.
Blogger Robots.txt Checklist
- Open
/robots.txtand review Blogger's current file. - Keep custom robots.txt OFF unless you need a specific change.
- Understand every rule before adding it.
- Avoid broad
Disallowdirectives. - Do not use robots.txt as a replacement for
noindex. - Do not block important posts, pages or rendering resources.
- Use your correct canonical domain in sitemap references.
- Check affected URLs with Search Console URL Inspection.
- Return custom robots.txt to OFF if you are unsure about your configuration.
Questions About Blogger Robots.txt
Does Blogger automatically create robots.txt?
Yes. Blogger automatically provides a robots.txt file even when the custom robots.txt setting is disabled.
How do I add robots.txt in Blogger?
Go to Blogger → Settings → Crawlers and indexing, enable Custom robots.txt, enter your rules and save them. Only enable this setting when you understand why the default file needs to be replaced.
Should I enable custom robots.txt in Blogger?
Most Blogger websites do not need it. Blogger already generates a default robots.txt file, and incorrect custom rules can block important content from crawling.
Can robots.txt stop a Blogger page from appearing in Google?
Robots.txt controls crawling and is not a reliable method for removing an HTML page from Google Search. Use a supported noindex directive when the goal is to prevent indexing.
Can I use noindex inside Blogger robots.txt?
No. Google does not support noindex rules in robots.txt. Indexing controls should be implemented using supported robots meta tags or equivalent Blogger settings.
How do I check my Blogger robots.txt?
Add /robots.txt to your Blogger domain, for example https://www.example.com/robots.txt, to view the file currently being served.
How do I restore the default Blogger robots.txt?
Go to Blogger → Settings → Crawlers and indexing and turn Enable custom robots.txt OFF. Blogger will return to its automatically generated configuration.
Final Recommendation
For most Blogger websites, the safest robots.txt configuration is Blogger's default configuration.
Only enable custom robots.txt when you have a specific crawler-management requirement and understand exactly how each rule affects your URLs.
Do not use robots.txt to force pages out of Google Search, and avoid copying generic configurations from other websites without reviewing them carefully.
If your goal is simply to improve Blogger SEO, focus first on useful content, correct indexing, sitemaps, canonicals, internal links and website performance rather than adding unnecessary crawler restrictions.