How to stop SE bots finding /test/ directory

[bldstr]

Our company doesn't have a dedicated testing server so we have to use www.url.co.uk/test/ for showing test pages internally or to external partners/agencies. There's no sensitive data here but it does contain versions of sections of our site that may be out of date and we'd really rather search engines didn't find it. There are obviously no inbound links from the main site but we'd rather just be safe than sorry.

What is the best way to stop the bots from using only this directory?

[gbonnet]

Hi

You need to set up a robots.txt on your webserver.

From that file you will be able to mention to SE bots not to scrawl such or such directory

Have a look at :
http://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html

HTH
G.

[bldstr]

Thanks gbonnet. That's what I presumed but I was hoping I'd be able to have a robots.txt file only in the test directory. Not that I have a problem with the file being in root, I'm just scared I mess up and end up blocking everything!

I've made a file called robots.txt and within that I have:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /test/

Look OK to you?

[gbonnet]

Hi
It seems fine.

It's a know technologie and a strandard so you won't mess things up.
:)