If you’re starting to explore the world of search engine optimisation, or SEO for short, you’re going to have to learn about crawling and indexing.
So without any further disruption, let’s get to answering the question: “What technology do search engines use to crawl websites?”
Answering The Question (Short Answer)
The answer is bots! Instead of a human going through millions of websites to see which ones should show up in search engines, bots are sent out en masse as an efficient alternative.
Understanding The Bots
These bots have been designed to explore the internet to find suitable websites and pages on them for search engines. When a new page or updated one has been identified, the bot will scan the content on the page to understand what it’s about.
After this, the information is sent back to the likes of Google, Bing and other engines and the web pages are indexed if suitable. Keywords are then found within the content, helping search engines place the pages in search results.
But wait… There’s more!
Search engine bots also scan sites to detect if any malware is present and to collect information about the amount of visitors going to the website.
Quite handy, aren’t they?
Why Are Some People Scared Of Them?
Although search engine bots are just automated programs, they are sometimes known for their bad reputation. This is mainly due to individuals not really understanding what they’re used for and loads of misinformation circulating around – similar to many other things.
With that being said, other bots, which sometimes get classed as search engine bots, are known to search the web for personal information and other shady practices. In other words, these are the ones you need to be concerned about.
That’s A Wrap
Knowing how bots crawl websites is essential for anyone doing SEO. Using bot-friend robot.txt files and giving web pages “indexable” tags will help improve visibility massively.
If you’re running into problems and need some assistance, contact SEO Luton today!