A crawler is also known as a web spider or bot. An automated program that methodically moves through the internet to find web pages. Websites like Bing and Google employ a crawler to collect data from a website for their results.
How Do Crawlers Work?
Through links, sitemaps, and robots.txt files, crawlers move around websites. They look at page content, meta-info, titles, and structure to see what to index. Crawlers also respect the directives in “no follow” and crawl budget.
Types of Crawlers.
- Search engine crawlers are used to crawl websites for indexing while SEO audit crawlers like Bot, crawl your website for insights relating to SEO.
- Bots that steal content or overload servers without permission are malicious crawlers.
Why Are Crawlers Important?
Crawlers make sure web pages show up in search results and can get ranked. If the spider does not crawl a page, it does not get indexed. Efficient optimization of your site like lucid navigation, clearly defined sitemap and fast HTML pages ensures search engine crawlers process and rank your content adequately.
How to Manage Crawlers.
- Use the robots.txt file to limit crawl access.
- Optimize internal linking for better discoverability.
- Reduce unnecessary redirects and fix broken links.
- Monitor crawl activity in Google Search Console.
FAQs.
Are crawling and indexing the same?
No, they are not the same. Indexing and crawling refer to two different processes which are often confused by most people.
Do crawlers impact site performance?
Excessive crawling can slow down a site. Implement rate limits if needed.
How can I check my site’s crawl activity?
Track the Googlebot visits and requests using the Crawl Stats report of Google Search Console.
