Why is robots.txt blocking URL's in sitemap?
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Hi Folks,
Any ideas why Google Webmaster Tools is indicating that my robots.txt is blocking URL's linked in my sitemap.xml, when in fact it isn't?
I have checked the current robots.txt declarations and they are fine and I've also tested it in the 'robots.txt Tester' tool, which indicates for the URL's it's suggesting are blocked in the sitemap, in fact work fine.
Is this a temporary issue that will be resolved over a few days or should I be concerned.
I have recently removed the declaration from the robots.txt that would have been blocking them and then uploaded a new updated sitemap.xml. I'm assuming this issue is due to some sort of crossover.
Thanks
Gaz
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Brilliant, thanks for the clarification Matt. Much appreciated.
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Yes, it should clear up by itself after a day or two. Google will need to recrawl the robots.txt file next time they visit your site. It should clear up then. If you make immediate changes and try to resubmit a sitemap, you almost always get this issue.
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