Is robot.txt file a must requirement?

[pstewart]

I keep on receiving error from google that states that my page is invalid in robot.txt file. The thing is - I don't have robot.txt file. So, my question is - do I need to have one? My sitemap.xml file lists all files that need to be indexed.

Thanks,
Paul Stewart

[jimbeetle]

No, it isn't necessary to have a robots.txt file, though you might consider putting up a blank robots.txt file so you can rid yourself of those 404 errors. Simply open a new file in Notepad or other text editor, save it as robots.txt and upload it to the www root of your server.

The original robots.txt standard has been extended by both Google and Yahoo, so if you do decide to use one, be sure to familiarize yourself with the wildcard (*) and end anchor ($) symbols. I usually recommend against using these as only G and Y are known to recognize them at this time.