HubSpot SEO Certification Practice Test

When should you use a robots.txt file?

1. When you want to improve site speed.

2. When you have pages that you don't want search engines to crawl and index.

3. When you're optimizing for keywords.

4. When creating a sitemap.

The correct answer is: When you have pages that you don't want search engines to crawl and index.

A robots.txt file is utilized when there are specific pages or sections of a website that you want search engines to avoid crawling and indexing. This is crucial for managing search engine bots and ensuring that only the intended content is indexed. For example, this might be relevant for staging environments, private or duplicate content, or any area of the site that you don't want to appear in search results. The file acts as a directive for search engines, letting them know which parts of the site should remain off-limits, and helps to prevent issues such as duplicate content or unintended exposure of sensitive information. By controlling the crawling behavior, a website can better manage its visibility and relevance in search results, aligning with SEO best practices. The other options, while relevant to SEO, do not accurately describe the primary use of a robots.txt file. Improving site speed entails optimizing page load times and server responses, which is unrelated to the function of robots.txt. Keyword optimization focuses on content creation and relevancy, not crawling directives. Lastly, creating a sitemap is a separate process that helps search engines discover and index relevant pages, but it doesn’t involve instructing them on what to avoid, which is the role of robots.txt.