Web crawler is an automated program that browses, indexes, and organizes web pages, helping search-engines provide accurate and relevant results.
What Is a Web Crawler?
A web crawler, also known as a spider or bot, is a tool used by search engines to discover and analyze websites. It systematically scans web pages, follows links, and gathers data to update search engine indexes, ensuring fresh and accurate search results.
Why Web Crawlers Matter:
- Help search engines discover and index new web pages.
- Ensure updated information appears in search results.
- Improve website visibility in organic search.
- Identify broken links or inaccessible content.
- Influence how quickly new content ranks.
Examples of Popular Web Crawlers:
- Googlebot (Google)
- Bingbot (Bing)
- Yandex Bot (Yandex)
- Baiduspider (Baidu)
Example in Practice:
A blog publishes a new article, and Googlebot visits within hours, indexing it so it appears in relevant Google searches.
