{"id":654643,"date":"2025-02-25T18:40:35","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T15:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T18:40:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T15:40:35","slug":"a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"#A guide to web crawlers: What you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e96c5ebbf\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26e96c5ebbf\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Your_website_is_being_crawled_right_now_Find_out_which_bots_are_helping_your_SEO_which_ones_are_hurting_it_and_how_to_take_control\" >Your website is being crawled right now. Find out which bots are helping your SEO, which ones are hurting it, and how to take control.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#First-party_crawlers_Mining_insights_from_your_own_website\" >First-party crawlers: Mining insights from your own website<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Googlebot_via_Search_Console\" >Googlebot via Search Console<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Screaming_Frog_SEO_Spider\" >Screaming Frog SEO Spider<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Ahrefs_Site_Audit\" >Ahrefs Site Audit<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Semrush_Site_Audit\" >Semrush Site Audit<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Third-party_crawlers_Bots_that_might_visit_your_website\" >Third-party crawlers: Bots that might visit your website<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Googlebot\" >Googlebot<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Other_search_engines\" >Other search engines<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Screaming_Frogs_Crawl_Bot\" >Screaming Frog\u2019s Crawl Bot<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Ahrefs_Bot\" >Ahrefs Bot<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Semrush_Bot\" >Semrush Bot<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Rogerbot_Dotbot_and_other_crawlers\" >Rogerbot, Dotbot, and other crawlers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Non-SEO_crawl_bots\" >Non-SEO crawl bots<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Understanding_search_bots_SEO_crawlers_and_scrapers_for_technical_SEO\" >Understanding search bots, SEO crawlers and scrapers for technical SEO<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-guide-to-web-crawlers-what-you-need-to-know\/#Key_takeaways\" >Key takeaways<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Your_website_is_being_crawled_right_now_Find_out_which_bots_are_helping_your_SEO_which_ones_are_hurting_it_and_how_to_take_control\"><\/span>Your website is being crawled right now. Find out which bots are helping your SEO, which ones are hurting it, and how to take control.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\n<p>Understanding the difference between search bots and scrapers is crucial for SEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Website crawlers fall into two categories:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>First-party bots, which you use to audit and optimize your own site.<\/li>\n<li>Third-party bots, which crawl your site externally \u2013 sometimes to index your content (like Googlebot) and other times to extract data (like competitor scrapers).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This guide breaks down first-party crawlers that can improve your site\u2019s technical SEO and third-party bots, exploring their impact and how to manage them effectively.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-first-party-crawlers-mining-insights-from-your-own-website\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First-party_crawlers_Mining_insights_from_your_own_website\"><\/span>First-party crawlers: Mining insights from your own website<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Crawlers can help you identify ways to improve your technical SEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Enhancing your site\u2019s technical foundation, architectural depth, and crawl efficiency is a long-term strategy for increasing search traffic.<\/p>\n<p>Occasionally, you may uncover major issues \u2013 such as a robots.txt file blocking all search bots on a staging site that was left active after launch.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fixing such problems can lead to im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te improvements in search visibility.<\/p>\n<p>Now, let\u2019s explore some crawl-based technologies you can use.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-googlebot-via-search-console\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Googlebot_via_Search_Console\"><\/span>Googlebot via Search Console<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>You don\u2019t work in a Google data center, so you can\u2019t launch Googlebot to crawl your own site.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, by verifying your site with Google Search Console (GSC), you can access Googlebot\u2019s data and insights. (Follow <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/10267942\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google\u2019s guidance<\/a> to set yourself up on the platform.)<\/p>\n<p>GSC is free to use and provides valuable information \u2013 especially about page indexing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1320\" alt=\"GSC page indexing\" class=\"wp-image-452507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-524x338.png.webp 524w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-800x516.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-175x113.png.webp 175w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-768x495.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-1536x990.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report.png.webp\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report.png.webp\" alt=\"GSC page indexing\" class=\"wp-image-452507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-524x338.png.webp 524w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-800x516.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-175x113.png.webp 175w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-768x495.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG1-GSC-Page-Indexing-Report-1536x990.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>There\u2019s also data on mobile-friendliness, structured data, and Core Web Vitals:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1310\" alt=\"GSC Core Web Vitals \" class=\"wp-image-452508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-528x338.png.webp 528w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-800x512.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-177x113.png.webp 177w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-768x491.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-1536x983.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1310\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC.png.webp\" alt=\"GSC Core Web Vitals \" class=\"wp-image-452508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-528x338.png.webp 528w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-800x512.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-177x113.png.webp 177w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-768x491.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG2-Core-Web-Vitals-GSC-1536x983.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Technically, this is third-party data from Google, but only verified users can access it for their site.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In practice, it functions much like the data from a crawl you run yourself.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-screaming-frog-seo-spider\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Screaming_Frog_SEO_Spider\"><\/span>Screaming Frog SEO Spider<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Screaming Frog is a desktop <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lication that runs locally on your machine to generate crawl data for your website.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They also offer a log file analyzer, which is useful if you have access to server log files. For now, we\u2019ll focus on Screaming Frog\u2019s SEO Spider.<\/p>\n<p>At $259 per year, it\u2019s highly cost-effective compared to other tools that charge this much per month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, because it runs locally, crawling stops if you turn off your computer \u2013 it doesn\u2019t operate in the cloud.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Still, the data it provides is fast, accurate, and ideal for those who want to dive deeper into technical SEO.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1237\" alt=\"Screaming Frog main interface\" class=\"wp-image-452509\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-559x338.png.webp 559w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-800x483.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-187x113.png.webp 187w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-768x464.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-1536x928.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1237\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface.png.webp\" alt=\"Screaming Frog main interface\" class=\"wp-image-452509\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-559x338.png.webp 559w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-800x483.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-187x113.png.webp 187w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-768x464.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG3-SF-Main-Interface-1536x928.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>From the main interface, you can quickly launch your own crawls.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once completed, export <em>Internal &gt; All data <\/em>to an Excel-readable format and get comfortable handling and pivoting the data for deeper insights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Screaming Frog also offers many other useful export options.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1098\" height=\"1173\" alt=\"Screaming Frog export options\" class=\"wp-image-452510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export.png 1098w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export-316x338.png.webp 316w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export-562x600.png.webp 562w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export-106x113.png.webp 106w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export-768x820.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1098\" height=\"1173\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export.png\" alt=\"Screaming Frog export options\" class=\"wp-image-452510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export.png 1098w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export-316x338.png.webp 316w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export-562x600.png.webp 562w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export-106x113.png.webp 106w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG4-Screaming-Frog-Reports-Export-768x820.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>It provides reports and exports for internal linking, redirects (including redirect chains), insecure content (mixed content), and more.<\/p>\n<p>The drawback is it requires more hands-on management, and you\u2019ll need to be comfortable working with data in Excel or Google Sheets to maximize its value.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>4 of the best technical SEO tools<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ahrefs-site-audit\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ahrefs_Site_Audit\"><\/span>Ahrefs Site Audit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Ahrefs is a comprehensive cloud-based platform that includes a technical SEO crawler within its Site Audit module.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To use it, set up a project, configure the crawl parameters, and launch the crawl to generate technical SEO insights.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1245\" alt=\"Ahrefs Overview\" class=\"wp-image-452511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-556x338.png.webp 556w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-800x486.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-186x113.png.webp 186w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-768x467.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-1536x933.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1245\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview.png.webp\" alt=\"Ahrefs Overview\" class=\"wp-image-452511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-556x338.png.webp 556w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-800x486.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-186x113.png.webp 186w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-768x467.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG5-Ahrefs-Crawl-Overview-1536x933.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Once the crawl is complete, you\u2019ll see an overview that includes a technical SEO health rating (0-100) and highlights key issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You can click on these issues for more details, and a helpful button appears as you dive deeper, explaining why certain fixes are necessary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1779\" height=\"1188\" alt=\"Ahrefs why and how to fix\" class=\"wp-image-452512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix.png 1779w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-506x338.png.webp 506w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-800x534.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-169x113.png.webp 169w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-768x513.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-1536x1026.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1779px) 100vw, 1779px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1779\" height=\"1188\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs why and how to fix\" class=\"wp-image-452512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix.png 1779w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-506x338.png.webp 506w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-800x534.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-169x113.png.webp 169w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-768x513.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG6-Ahrefs-Why-and-How-to-Fix-1536x1026.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1779px) 100vw, 1779px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Since Ahrefs runs in the cloud, your machine\u2019s status doesn\u2019t affect the crawl. It continues even if your PC or Mac is turned off.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Compared to Screaming Frog, Ahrefs provides more guidance, making it easier to turn crawl data into actionable SEO insights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s less cost-effective. If you don\u2019t need its additional features, like backlink data and keyword research, it may not be worth the expense.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-semrush-site-audit\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Semrush_Site_Audit\"><\/span>Semrush Site Audit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Next is Semrush, another powerful cloud-based platform with a built-in technical SEO crawler.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Like Ahrefs, it also provides backlink analysis and keyword research tools.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1002\" alt=\"Semrush Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-452513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-600x294.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-800x391.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-200x98.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-768x376.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-1536x751.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1002\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview.png.webp\" alt=\"Semrush Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-452513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-600x294.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-800x391.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-200x98.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-768x376.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG7-SEMRush-Overview-1536x751.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Semrush offers a technical SEO health rating, which improves as you fix site issues. Its crawl overview highlights errors and warnings.<\/p>\n<p>As you explore, you\u2019ll find explanations of why fixes are needed and how to implement them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"835\" alt=\"Semrush why and how to fix\" class=\"wp-image-452514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-600x245.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-800x326.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-200x82.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-768x313.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-1536x626.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"835\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix.png.webp\" alt=\"Semrush why and how to fix\" class=\"wp-image-452514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-600x245.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-800x326.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-200x82.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-768x313.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/IMG8-SEMRush-Why-and-How-to-Fix-1536x626.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Both Semrush and Ahrefs have robust site audit tools, making it easy to launch crawls, analyze data, and provide recommendations to developers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While both platforms are pricier than Screaming Frog, they excel at turning crawl data into actionable insights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Semrush is slightly more cost-effective than Ahrefs, making it a solid choice for those new to technical SEO.<\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-css-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-third-party-crawlers-bots-that-might-visit-your-website\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Third-party_crawlers_Bots_that_might_visit_your_website\"><\/span>Third-party crawlers: Bots that might visit your website<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Earlier, we discussed how third parties might crawl your website for various reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But what are these external crawlers, and how can you identify them?<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-googlebot\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Googlebot\"><\/span>Googlebot<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As mentioned, you can use Google Search Console to access some of Googlebot\u2019s crawl data for your site.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Without Googlebot crawling your site, there would be no data to analyze. <\/p>\n<p>(You can learn more about Google\u2019s common crawl bots in this <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/crawling-indexing\/google-common-crawlers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Central documentation<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Google\u2019s most common crawlers are:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Googlebot Smartphone.<\/li>\n<li>Googlebot Desktop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each uses separate rendering engines for mobile and desktop, but both contain \u201c<code>Googlebot\/2.1<\/code>\u201d in their user-agent string.<\/p>\n<p>If you analyze your server logs, you can isolate Googlebot traffic to see which areas of your site it crawls most frequently.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This can help identify technical SEO issues, such as pages that Google isn\u2019t crawling as expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To analyze log files, you can create spreadsheets to process and pivot the data from raw .txt or .csv files. If that seems complex, Screaming Frog\u2019s Log File Analyzer is a useful tool.<\/p>\n<p>In most cases, you shouldn\u2019t block Googlebot, as this can negatively affect SEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, if Googlebot gets stuck in highly dynamic site architecture, you may need to block specific URLs via robots.txt. Use this carefully \u2013 overuse can harm your rankings.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fake Googlebot traffic<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not all traffic claiming to be Googlebot is legitimate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many crawlers and scrapers allow users to spoof user-agent strings, meaning they can disguise themselves as Googlebot to bypass crawl restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Screaming Frog can be configured to impersonate Googlebot.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, many websites \u2013 especially those hosted on large cloud networks like AWS \u2013 can differentiate between real and fake Googlebot traffic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They do this by checking if the request comes from Google\u2019s official IP ranges.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If a request claims to be Googlebot but originates outside of those ranges, it\u2019s likely fake.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-other-search-engines\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_search_engines\"><\/span>Other search engines<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In addition to Googlebot, other search engines may crawl your site. For example:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/webmasters\/help\/which-crawlers-does-bing-use-8c184ec0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Bingbot<\/strong><\/a> (Microsoft Bing).<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/duckduckgo.com\/duckduckgo-help-pages\/results\/duckduckbot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>DuckDuckBot<\/strong><\/a> (DuckDuckGo).<\/li>\n<li><strong>YandexBot<\/strong> (Yandex, a Russian search engine, though not well-documented).<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baidu.com\/search\/robots_english.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Baiduspider<\/strong><\/a> (Baidu, a popular search engine in China).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In your robots.txt file, you can create wildcard rules to disallow all search bots or specify rules for particular crawlers and directories. <\/p>\n<p>However, keep in mind that robots.txt entries are directives, not commands \u2013 meaning they can be ignored. <\/p>\n<p>Unlike redirects, which prevent a server from serving a resource, robots.txt is merely a strong signal requesting bots not to crawl certain areas. <\/p>\n<p>Some crawlers may disregard these directives entirely.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-screaming-frog-s-crawl-bot\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Screaming_Frogs_Crawl_Bot\"><\/span>Screaming Frog\u2019s Crawl Bot<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Screaming Frog typically identifies itself with a user agent like <code>Screaming Frog SEO Spider\/21.4<\/code>.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cScreaming Frog SEO Spider\u201d text is always included, followed by the version number.<\/p>\n<p>However, Screaming Frog allows users to customize the user-agent string, meaning crawls can appear to be from Googlebot, Chrome, or another user-agent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This makes it difficult to block Screaming Frog crawls.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While you can block user agents containing \u201cScreaming Frog SEO Spider,\u201d an operator can simply change the string.<\/p>\n<p>If you suspect unauthorized crawling, you may need to identify and block the IP range instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This requires server-side intervention from your web developer, as robots.txt cannot block IPs \u2013 especially since Screaming Frog can be configured to ignore robots.txt directives.<\/p>\n<p>Be cautious, though. It might be your own SEO team conducting a crawl to check for technical SEO issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before blocking Screaming Frog, try to determine the source of the traffic, as it could be an internal employee gathering data.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ahrefs-bot\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ahrefs_Bot\"><\/span>Ahrefs Bot<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Ahrefs has a crawl bot and a site audit bot for crawling.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When Ahrefs crawls the web for its own index, you\u2019ll see traffic from <code>AhrefsBot\/7.0<\/code>.<\/li>\n<li>When an Ahrefs user runs a site audit, traffic will come from <code>AhrefsSiteAudit\/6.1<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both bots respect robots.txt disallow rules, per Ahrefs\u2019 documentation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t want your site to be crawled, you can block Ahrefs using robots.txt.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, your web developer can deny requests from user agents containing \u201c<code>AhrefsBot<\/code>\u201d or \u201c<code>AhrefsSiteAudit<\/code>\u201c.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-semrush-bot\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Semrush_Bot\"><\/span>Semrush Bot<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Like Ahrefs, Semrush operates multiple crawlers with different user-agent strings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to review all available information to identify them properly.<\/p>\n<p>The two most common user-agent strings you\u2019ll encounter are:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>SemrushBot<\/strong>: Semrush\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> web crawler, used to improve its index.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SiteAuditBot<\/strong>: Used when a Semrush user initiates a site audit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-rogerbot-dotbot-and-other-crawlers\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rogerbot_Dotbot_and_other_crawlers\"><\/span>Rogerbot, Dotbot, and other crawlers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Moz, another widely used cloud-based SEO platform, deploys Rogerbot to crawl websites for technical insights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Moz also operates Dotbot, a general web crawler. Both can be blocked via your robots.txt file if needed.<\/p>\n<p>Another crawler you may encounter is MJ12Bot, used by the Majestic SEO platform. Typically, it\u2019s nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-non-seo-crawl-bots\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Non-SEO_crawl_bots\"><\/span>Non-SEO crawl bots<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not all crawlers are SEO-related. Many social platforms operate their own bots.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meta (Facebook\u2019s parent company) runs multiple crawlers, while Twitter previously used Twitterbot \u2013 and it\u2019s likely that X now deploys a similar, though less-documented, system.<\/p>\n<p>Crawlers continuously scan the web for data. Some can benefit your site, while others should be monitored through server logs.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-understanding-search-bots-seo-crawlers-and-scrapers-for-technical-seo\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Understanding_search_bots_SEO_crawlers_and_scrapers_for_technical_SEO\"><\/span>Understanding search bots, SEO crawlers and scrapers for technical SEO<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Managing both first-party and third-party crawlers is essential for maintaining your website\u2019s technical SEO.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-key-takeaways\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_takeaways\"><\/span><strong>Key takeaways<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>First-party crawlers<\/strong> (e.g., Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, Semrush) help audit and optimize your own site.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Googlebot insights<\/strong> via Search Console provide crucial data on indexation and performance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Third-party crawlers<\/strong> (e.g., Bingbot, AhrefsBot, SemrushBot) crawl your site for search indexing or competitive analysis.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Managing bots<\/strong> via robots.txt and server logs can help control unwanted crawlers and improve crawl efficiency in specific cases.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Data handling skills<\/strong> are crucial for extracting meaningful insights from crawl reports and log files.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By balancing proactive auditing with strategic bot management, you can ensure your site remains well-optimized and efficiently crawled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"about-author\">\n<p>About the author<\/p>\n<div class=\"information\">\n<div class=\"author-module\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 text-center\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" alt=\"James Allen\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2023\/09\/James-Allen.jpeg.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2023\/09\/James-Allen.jpeg.webp\" alt=\"James Allen\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-9\">\n<div class=\"about\">\n<div class=\"name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>James Allen<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"row g-2 pt-2\">\n<div class=\"col-auto\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/scriptedinsight\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin\"><\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\tHailing from the Midlands of the United Kingdom; James Allen has been working in search since 2009. Specialising in technical SEO early in his career, he is an auditor who is capable of ascertaining his own data. With a solid knowledge of XPath and some working knowledge of Python, James also dabbles in AI scripting (for example, combining the functions of BLIP with Open-AI&#8217;s GPT suite of technologies). James decided to split his career between then technical SEO, light API scripting and Analytics support disciplines. Due to this, he also has high familiarity with Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and managing custom events within the data layer. James specialises in page-speed analysis, and utilising AI for SEO purposes.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/web-crawlers-guide-452505\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your website is being crawled right now. Find out which bots are helping your SEO, which ones are hurting it, and how to take control. Understanding the difference between search bots and scrapers is crucial for SEO.\u00a0 Website crawlers fall into two categories:\u00a0 First-party bots, which you use to audit and optimize your own site&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":654644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/02\/A-guide-to-web-crawlers-What-you-need-to-know.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[78070,148084],"class_list":["post-654643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-seo","tag-technical-optimization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}