How Google's crawler scans the internet
The method used to scan through millions of web pages is called web crawling, and you can read more about it here.
For Google to deliver the best results when you use the search engine, it depends on having a large library of websites. The pages you see in the search results are retrieved from this library. The system that navigates from one website to another and stores information is often referred to as a “bot”, “robot” or “spider”.
An advanced algorithm determines how the Googlebot should operate, and much of this is kept confidential. However, Google has stated, among other things, that they have one bot for websites primarily designed for desktop users, and another that is used to visit mobile-friendly websites. This is because the user experience and functionality of a website differ significantly depending on whether it is accessed from a computer or a mobile phone.
In any case, the principle is that the Googlebot follows links – both external links/backlinks (from site to site) and internal links (links from page to page within the same site).
At the same time, the algorithm uses the SEO specialist’s tools such as sitemap and robots.txt to understand the different websites it visits.
Once the Googlebot has accessed a webpage, it is rendered so that the system can understand how a human will experience the site. This applies to both the written content and the visual elements.
How many Googlebots are there?
It’s easy to imagine that there is one big computer in a dark room at Google where the Googlebot is working from. In reality, the bot runs on several thousand servers and computers around the world. This is done to reduce the server load on individual websites.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is Googlebot?
Google’s system for finding, understanding, and indexing web pages is often referred to as “Googlebot”.
Can you influence Googlebot?
With tools such as Google Search Console, you can give Google instructions and preferences for how Googlebot should operate on your website.
