What is the difference between a site map and robots txt file ?

grumpyb · 02-17-2009, 02:45 PM

Thank You to those who kindly answered my robots txt quaestion

My next question is
What is the difference between a site map and robots txt file ?

Your help is greatly appreciated

dranzer1990 · 02-17-2009, 02:49 PM

A sitemap lists all the pages on your site whereas robots.txt is used to tell search engines what pages to crawl and what not to crawl.

Basically, with a sitemap, you are telling search engines about all pages on your site and that you want them to be indexed.

Catalin Ionescu · 02-17-2009, 03:00 PM

A site map is like the table of contents for your site... It provides search engines with a direct path to each page of your site, which favors quick indexing for all the pages.

On the other hand, robots.txt is typically used to tell search engines to exclude from the index a specific page or folder of your site.

02-17-2009, 02:45 PM	#1
grumpyb HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Newcastle NSW Australia Posts: 228 Thanks: 50 Thanked 15 Times in 12 Posts	What is the difference between a site map and robots txt file ? Thank You to those who kindly answered my robots txt quaestion My next question is What is the difference between a site map and robots txt file ? Your help is greatly appreciated
	we sell childrens tables and chairs and baby furniture and we offer garden furniture

02-17-2009, 02:49 PM	#2
dranzer1990 Warrior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 12 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: What is the difference between a site map and robots txt file ? A sitemap lists all the pages on your site whereas robots.txt is used to tell search engines what pages to crawl and what not to crawl. Basically, with a sitemap, you are telling search engines about all pages on your site and that you want them to be indexed.

02-17-2009, 03:00 PM	#3
Catalin Ionescu Will code for food War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bucharest, Romania Posts: 377 Thanks: 39 Thanked 35 Times in 17 Posts Contact Info	Re: What is the difference between a site map and robots txt file ? A site map is like the table of contents for your site... It provides search engines with a direct path to each page of your site, which favors quick indexing for all the pages. On the other hand, robots.txt is typically used to tell search engines to exclude from the index a specific page or folder of your site.