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What is a robots.txt file?

The robots.txt file is a simple text file that must be placed in your root directory (http://www.example.com/robots.txt). It tells the search engine spider which web pages on your website should be indexed and which web pages should be ignored. ------------------- You can use a simple text editor to create a robots.txt file. The content of a robots.txt file consists of so-called "records". A record contains the information for a special search engine. Each record consists of two fields: the user agent line and one or more Disallow lines. Here's an example: User-agent: googlebot Disallow: /cgi-bin/ This robots.txt file would allow the "googlebot", which is the search engine spider of Google, to retrieve every page from your site except for files from the "cgi-bin" directory. All files in the "cgi-bin" directory will be ignored by googlebot. How does this affect your rankings on Google? If you accidentally use the wrong commands then you might tell Google to go away although you want them to index your pages. For that reason, it is important that you check the content of your robotx.txt file. How to check your robots.txt file Open your web browser and enter www.yourdomain.com/robots.txt to view the contents of your robots txt file. Here are the most important tips for a correct robots.txt file: 1. There are only two official commands for the robots.txt file: User-agent and Disallow. Do not use more commands than these. 2. Don't change the order of the commands. Start with the user-agent line and then add the disallow commands: User-agent: * Disallow: /cgi-bin/ 3. Don't use more than one directory in a Disallow line. "Disallow: /support /cgi-bin/ /images/" does not work. Use an extra Disallow line for every directory: User-agent: * Disallow: /support Disallow: /cgi-bin/ Disallow: /images/ 4. Be sure to use the right case. The file names on your server are case sensitve. If the name of your directory is "Support", don't write "support" in the robots.txt file. You can find user agent names in your log files by checking for requests to robots.txt. Usually, all search engine spiders should be given the same rights. To do that, use User-agent: * in your robots.txt file. What happens if you don't have a robots.txt file? If your website doesn't have a robots.txt file (you can check this by entering your www.yourdomain.com/robotx.txt in your web browser) then search engines will automatically index everything they can find on your site. ------------------- Checking your robots.txt file is important if you want search engines to index your web pages. However, indexing alone is not enough. You must also make sure that search engines find what they're looking for when they index your pages. You can make sure that Google indexes your web pages for the right keywords by optimizing your website. If search engine spiders index unoptimized pages, chances are that you won't get high rankings.

Robots.txt

What is a robots.txt file? The robots.txt file is a simple text file that must be placed in your root directory (http://www.example.com/robots.txt). It tells the search engine spider which web pages on your website should be indexed and which web pages should be ignored.

------------------- You can use a simple text editor to create a robots.txt file. The content of a robots.txt file consists of so-called "records". A record contains the information for a special search engine. Each record consists of two fields: the user agent line and one or more Disallow lines.

Here's an example: User-agent: googlebot Disallow: /cgi-bin/

This robots.txt file would allow the "googlebot", which is the search engine spider of Google, to retrieve every page from your site except for files from the "cgi-bin" directory. All files in the "cgi-bin" directory will be ignored by googlebot.

How does this affect your rankings on Google?

If you accidentally use the wrong commands then you might tell Google to go away although you want them to index your pages. For that reason, it is important that you check the content of your robotx.txt file.

How to check your robots.txt file Open your web browser and enter www.yourdomain.com/robots.txt to view the contents of your robots txt file. Here are the most important tips for a correct robots.txt file:

1. There are only two official commands for the robots.txt file: User-agent and Disallow. Do not use more commands than these.

2. Don't change the order of the commands. Start with the user-agent line and then add the disallow commands:

User-agent: * Disallow: /cgi-bin/

3. Don't use more than one directory in a Disallow line. "Disallow: /support /cgi-bin/ /images/" does not work. Use an extra Disallow line for every directory: User-agent: * Disallow: /support Disallow: /cgi-bin/ Disallow: /images/

4. Be sure to use the right case. The file names on your server are case sensitve. If the name of your directory is "Support", don't write "support" in the robots.txt file. You can find user agent names in your log files by checking for requests to robots.txt. Usually, all search engine spiders should be given the same rights. To do that, use User-agent: * in your robots.txt file.

What happens if you don't have a robots.txt file? If your website doesn't have a robots.txt file (you can check this by entering your www.yourdomain.com/robotx.txt in your web browser) then search engines will automatically index everything they can find on your site.

------------------- Checking your robots.txt file is important if you want search engines to index your web pages. However, indexing alone is not enough. You must also make sure that search engines find what they're looking for when they index your pages.

You can make sure that Google indexes your web pages for the right keywords by optimizing your website. If search engine spiders index unoptimized pages, chances are that you won't get high rankings.

How To Write Attention Getting Headlines

"How To Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines: 10 Foolproof Methods" By: Peter Coughlin Here are some basic considerations when writing your headline. Who is your reader? What are the important features of your product or service? Lastly, why would your reader want to buy your product or service - what benefit will reading your article offer your reader? For maximum readership, write your headline as if you were creating short, curiosity-arousing teaser copy on an outer envelope. Compel your reader to read further without being so blatant in your headline that it turns them off. Here are ten ways to produce effective headlines taking into consideration your answers to the earlier three questions: who is your reader, what are the important features of your product or service and what benefit does reading your article provide? 1. State a benefit, something like "Learn how to potty train your dog in 3 easy steps." 2. Use words that help the reader visualize, such as "Keep your socks dry. Eliminate doggy carpet puddles, and wet socks, in 3 easy steps." 3. Highlight your offer in your headline. "Learn how to create an award winning aquarium." 4. Use numbers and statistics. 5. Make it newsworthy using words like: new, introducing, or announcing. 6. Make a promise or guarantee. 7. Make a big promise. This is used a lot Drop 20 pounds in 20 days. 8. Use a reasons why headline. "10 reasons why you're losing money in the stock market." 9. Anticipate and address your prospect's fears. 10. Pique their curiosity. There are many ways to produce a good, attention getting headline. Psychologists and skilled copywriters will tell you people don't buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional ones. Fear, greed, curiosity, benevolence, lust, jealousy, insecurity, pride, and frustration are among the effective emotions copy writers tap into. The same holds true for article headlines. If you can provide a headline that appeals to their emotions, not only will you have more people eagerly reading your article, you'll have more websites, blogs, and newsletters printing and linking to your article. When writing your headline, it is useful to write several headlines and choose the most effective or to write your copy first and let your copy dictate the headline. Regardless of how you proceed, experience and reading other eye catching headlines will help you explore the process. Visit an article directory and take a look at the articles that catch your eye. Browse through the articles with the most readership and examine the different headline styles. This exercise will help you create article headlines that generate the same readership numbers. The end result, more traffic and visibility for your website. ================================================ Peter Coughlin specializes in article marketing and writes for various ezines, web sites and publications. Find more information on attracting visitors to your website at http://WinWithArticles.com