Best SEO Checklist
ONE FOCUSED ACTION

Audit WordPress robots.txt and sitemap for accurate indexability.

Indexability optimization

1 checklist items

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    Why this matters

    Misconfigured robots.txt or sitemap can block or hide important pages from search engines, negatively affecting indexability and visibility.

    A STARTING-POINT EXAMPLE

    Hypothetical standard operating procedure

    Adapt this example to your site, access, tools, and change process. It is our suggested procedure, informed by the sources below.

    1. Access the robots.txt file and check for disallow rules blocking key content or AI crawlers.
    2. Review the XML sitemap to ensure only canonical, indexable URLs are included, excluding redirects or noindex pages.
    3. Use Google Search Console URL Inspection Tool to verify crawling and indexing status for key pages.
    4. Test robots.txt changes and sitemap updates in a staging environment before deployment.
    5. Schedule periodic audits of robots.txt and sitemap post-launch to maintain accuracy.

    Watch for

    Blocking important URLs or including non-canonical, redirecting, or noindex pages in sitemaps leads to crawl inefficiency and indexing loss.

    Definition of done

    All important, crawlable, and canonical URLs are accessible to search engines and correctly listed in the sitemap without duplicates or blocked pages.

    Sources & attribution

    1. WordPress SEO Checklist for Publishers: On-Page and Technical Basics ↗
    2. Multilingual SEO checklist: What to verify before launch ↗

    Original checklist wording and example SOP by Best SEO Checklist, using source-grounded AI assistance. Editorial contact: Ted Kubaitis, @tedkubaitis on Teams. Check current source guidance before implementation.