Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance
by Pagup · SEO
Also makes 17 other plugins · 30.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
Replace the default WordPress robots.txt workflow with a smarter, structured version you can preview before publishing, with Free, Pro, and Premium ed …
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 89/100
no flags
Active installs
5K+
≈5.7K estimated
Momentum
+36%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “seo” and “ai crawlers” for “robots” and “txt”. “seo” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “robots” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “ai crawlers” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #11. “txt” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
89 health vs 65 average across 2,216 SEO plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.5%
of downloads still active
At least 5K of 337.5K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median SEO plugin keeps 1.2%, across 1,193 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other SEO plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 11 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 4 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.5★ over 102 reviews, smoothed to 4.37★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
39
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
22%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| crawl | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| governance | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| web governance | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| ai governance | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| robots | #7 | #4 | 0 |
| bot blocker your tag | #8 | #7 | down 2 |
| ai crawlers your tag | #11 | #9 | down 3 |
| txt | #10 | #5 | 0 |
| ready | #12 | #12 | 0 |
| better | #14 | #10 | up 1 |
| readability | #11 | #10 | up 1 |
| crawling | #11 | #9 | up 2 |
| bot | #19 | #14 | down 1 |
| ai ready | #21 | #18 | up 1 |
| ai blocker | #8 | #7 | down 1 |
| crawlers | #14 | #10 | down 1 |
| bot control | #9 | #12 | 0 |
| serp preview | #16 | #7 | up 1 |
| crawler | #17 | #11 | down 2 |
| gptbot | #20 | #9 | down 2 |
| llms.txt your tag | Not checked yet | ||
| robots.txt your tag | Not checked yet | ||
| seo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
134 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 110 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “seo” and “ai crawlers” for “robots” and “txt”. “seo” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “robots” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “ai crawlers” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #11. “txt” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “ai crawlers”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 10K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
11
releases in the last 12 months
4d ago
latest release · v3.1.6 · 27 Oct 2026
17
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 40% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “5K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 66% of the way through.
Install history since 9 Feb 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ igateways2.1y ago
It is undeniably better that today was delivered to the market as an achievement. Thanks to everyone who worked on the creation of this incredibly useful product.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Iridamir2.7y ago
BETTER ROBOTS.TXT SETTINGS хороший плагин, мне нравиться.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Aedops-antena243.1y ago
Probabil varianta premium e buna dar asta free este jale de ea
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ i5nt3.4y ago
yea
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ leyman343.6y ago
My site has gone to the top of some search engines Excellent plug in, my site has increased to near the top in most of the search engines.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ autorepairsource4.0y ago
Very helpful This topic was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by autorepairsource.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Natalia4.4y ago
Setup is too complicated for me.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Goran Pesic4.5y ago
Does exactly what I needed thank you
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.1.2 Fixed Free edition AI Search policy handling so the global allow/block choice is respected during preview, save, and robots.txt generation. Updated the default AI posture to block AI training crawlers while allowing AI s 3.1.2
- — Version 3.1.1 Improve admin UI translations and locale detection, and remove external Google Fonts from the admin bundle. 3.1.1
- — Version 1.0.0 Initial release. 1.0.0
- — Version 1.0.1 fixed plugin directory url issue some text improvements 1.0.1
- — Version 1.0.2 fixed some minor issues with styling improved text and translation 1.0.2
- — Version 1.1.0 added some major improvements allow/off option changed with allow/disallow/off improved overall text and french translation 1.1.0
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 3 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (3.1.6). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2019-02-25 Missing Authorization Affects < 1.2.6 Patched in 1.2.6
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 15 languages, 1 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
8 of 8 pass · checked 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Replace the default WordPress robots.txt workflow with a smarter, structured version you can preview before..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 14 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 14 of 14 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("built for", "designed for", "for publishers").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, ChatGPT, Claude.
- ✓ Headings and lists 14 headings and 14 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 8,345 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "bot blocker" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-30 6K+ → 5K+ down after 179 days in tier
- 2026-01-02 7K+ → 6K+ down after 224 days in tier
- 2025-05-23 8K+ → 7K+ down after 235 days in tier
- 2024-09-30 9K+ → 8K+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2024-09-24 8K+ → 9K+ up after 13 days in tier
- 2024-09-11 9K+ → 8K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-09-10 8K+ → 9K+ up after 7 days in tier
- 2024-09-03 9K+ → 8K+ down after 15 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
WP Robots Txt 40K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Robots.txt Editor 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D -
Magic robots.txt 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
Prime SEO – AI SEO, LLMs.txt Generator, AI Bots Manager & AI Crawler Stats 100+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/better-robots-txt" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance: 5K+ active installs, 4.5★ (102 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/better-robots-txt
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