Build the meta robots tag that controls whether search engines index a page and follow its links - plus advanced snippet and caching directives. Live output, ready to copy. 100% in your browser - nothing is uploaded or stored.
Tip: meta robots controls indexing on crawlable pages. To stop crawling entirely, use the Robots.txt Generator - but a page blocked there can still be indexed without a snippet.
🔒 Everything runs in your browser. Your input is never uploaded, logged or stored.
The Meta Robots Tag Generator builds the <meta name="robots"> tag that tells search engines whether to index a page, follow its links, show a cached copy, display a snippet and more. Choose your directives with simple toggles, see a plain-English explanation of what each setting does, and copy a valid tag to drop into your page head.
It is part of the Meta & Tag Generators group in our free SEO Toolkit, alongside the Canonical Tag Generator and X-Robots-Tag Generator. For crawl control at the site level, pair it with the Robots.txt Generator, and build the full head with the Meta Tag Generator. Everything runs in your browser - your input is never uploaded or stored.
Build a valid meta robots tag without memorising directive syntax.
Start from Index/Follow, Noindex/Follow or full block, then fine-tune to fit the page.
Add noarchive, nosnippet, noimageindex, notranslate and snippet-length limits.
Target all robots, or write a tag aimed only at Googlebot, Googlebot-News or Bingbot.
A live explanation tells you exactly what your chosen directives will do.
From directives to a valid tag in seconds.
Choose whether the page can be indexed and whether links are followed.
Toggle noarchive, nosnippet and other directives as needed.
Target all robots or a specific crawler like Googlebot.
Copy the generated tag and paste it into your page's head.
A clean meta robots tag ready for your page head.
<!-- Standard indexable page --> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow"> <!-- Keep out of search but follow links --> <meta name="robots" content="noindex, follow"> <!-- With snippet controls --> <meta name="robots" content="index, follow, max-image-preview:large">
The meta robots tag is a piece of HTML placed in a page's head that gives search engines page-level instructions about indexing and display. Unlike robots.txt, which controls whether a page is crawled, the meta robots tag controls what happens once a page is crawled - whether it can appear in results, whether its links pass value, and how its snippet is shown. This generator assembles a valid tag and explains each directive in plain English. It is part of the Meta & Tag Generators group.
| Directive | What It Does |
|---|---|
| index / noindex | Allows or blocks the page from appearing in search results |
| follow / nofollow | Whether crawlers follow and pass value through the page's links |
| noarchive | Stops a cached copy of the page being shown |
| nosnippet | Prevents any text snippet or preview in results |
| noimageindex | Tells engines not to index images on the page |
| max-snippet:[n] | Limits the snippet to n characters |
| max-image-preview | Sets image preview size: none, standard or large |
These two tools are often confused but do different jobs. Robots.txt, built with our Robots.txt Generator, controls whether a page is crawled at all. The meta robots tag controls what happens after crawling. Crucially, a page blocked in robots.txt can still appear in results without a snippet if it is linked elsewhere - so to truly keep a page out of the index, allow it to be crawled and add a noindex meta robots tag instead.
Controls crawling. Best for saving crawl budget and blocking sections of a site.
Controls indexing and display. The reliable way to keep a page out of search.
If a page is blocked in robots.txt, crawlers cannot see its noindex tag.
For non-HTML files, the same directives are sent as an HTTP header instead.
Usually because the page is also blocked in robots.txt, so crawlers never see the noindex tag. Allow the page to be crawled so the noindex directive can be read, and the page will drop out of the index over time.
If no meta robots tag is present, search engines assume index, follow - the page can be indexed and its links followed. A self-aware index, follow tag is therefore optional but harmless, and useful for clarity.
Use robots to instruct all crawlers. Use a specific name like googlebot only when you need different behaviour for one engine. If both a robots and a googlebot tag exist, the more specific googlebot directive wins for Google.
No. The tag is built locally in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing you select is uploaded, logged or stored, so the tool is safe for staging pages and confidential client work.
Noindex confirmation and thank-you pages that should not appear in search.
Keep thin filter and sort variations out of the index while following links.
Use max-image-preview:large to allow rich image previews in results.
Apply noindex, nofollow to pages that are not ready for the public.
Use the Meta Robots Tag Generator with these tools from the SEO Toolkit: control crawling with the Robots.txt Generator, send directives for files with the X-Robots-Tag Generator, set the preferred URL with the Canonical Tag Generator, build the full head with the Meta Tag Generator, list indexable URLs in the XML Sitemap Generator, and audit a live page with the Meta Tag Analyzer.
Anyone who needs precise control over how pages appear in search.
Everything about the meta robots tag and indexing control.
It builds the meta robots tag that gives search engines page-level instructions - whether to index the page, follow its links, show a cached copy, display a snippet and more. You pick directives with toggles, see a plain-English explanation, and copy a valid tag for your page head.
Yes, completely. There is no cost, no sign-up and no limit on how many tags you create. The tool runs entirely in your browser, so there are no server costs and nothing to pay for.
Robots.txt controls whether a page is crawled, while the meta robots tag controls what happens after crawling, such as indexing and snippets. To reliably keep a page out of search, allow crawling and use a noindex meta robots tag rather than blocking it in robots.txt.
Yes. The tag is built locally in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing you select is uploaded, logged or stored. This makes the tool safe for staging pages, unpublished content and confidential client work.
Noindex keeps the page out of search results, while follow lets crawlers still follow and pass value through its links. This combination is common for thin pages like filtered listings that you do not want indexed but whose links should still be crawled.
Place it in the <head> of the specific page it applies to, alongside your other meta tags. It only affects that page. In a CMS, many SEO plugins let you set robots directives per page without editing code directly.
Most often the page is also blocked in robots.txt, so crawlers cannot see the noindex tag. Allow the page to be crawled so the directive can be read, and it will drop out of the index over time as Google re-crawls it.
Search engines default to index, follow, meaning the page can be indexed and its links followed. Adding an explicit index, follow tag is optional and harmless, but a noindex tag is needed whenever you want to keep a page out of search.
max-snippet limits how many characters of text snippet Google can show, and max-image-preview sets the image preview size to none, standard or large. They give finer control over how your result looks without removing it from search.
Yes. Use robots to instruct all crawlers, or choose a specific name like googlebot or bingbot to set behaviour for just that engine. If both a general and a specific tag exist, the specific one wins for that crawler.
Yes. The generator is fully responsive, so you can build meta robots tags from a phone or tablet. Choosing directives, switching bots and copying the tag all work the same as on desktop.
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Control indexing, link-following and snippets with a clean meta robots tag - free, private and instant in your browser.
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