Google Crawlers: What They Check and How to Stay Compliant

What Are Google Crawlers and Algorithms?

• Google Crawlers: Also known as “spiders” or “bots,” crawlers scan websites to gather information. Each crawler has a unique purpose, whether it’s indexing images, videos, mobile pages, or specific content like news.
• Google Algorithms: Algorithms are the rules and formulas Google uses to rank websites. Updates like Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird target different aspects of content quality, link integrity, and user intent to improve search results for users.

Google Crawlers: What They Check and How to Optimize

1. Googlebot – The Primary Web Crawler

• What It Checks For: Googlebot is responsible for scanning all indexed pages, examining your site’s structure, relevance, content quality, and internal linking.
• Common Issue: Incomplete indexing due to broken links or poor structure.
  • Fix: Create a clear, logical site structure with an XML sitemap listing all key pages, then submit it to Google Search Console. Regularly check for broken links (use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs) and correct any 404 errors.
• Common Issue: Blocking pages that should be indexed.
  • Fix: Review your robots.txt file and meta tags to ensure that important pages aren’t set to “noindex” or mistakenly blocked from Googlebot.

2. Googlebot-Image – Image Crawler

• What It Checks For: Googlebot-Image crawls images for Google Images, reviewing quality, alt text, and format (JPEG, PNG).
• Common Issue: Missing or irrelevant alt text, causing poor image indexing.
  • Fix: Add descriptive alt text to images with keywords. For example, use “red-luxury-sports-car-Miami.jpg” instead of “image1.jpg” for a Miami car rental page.
• Common Issue: Large image files slowing down the page.
  • Fix: Compress images to balance quality and speed. Use formats like WebP and lazy loading to improve performance.

3. Googlebot-Video – Video Content Crawler

• What It Checks For: Crawls video content for Google Video search, looking at titles, descriptions, and schema markup.
• Common Issue: Video content doesn’t appear in search results.
  • Fix: Use structured data (VideoObject schema) to give Googlebot-Video details about video title, description, and duration. Submit a video sitemap for better indexing.

4. Googlebot-News – News Crawler

• What It Checks For: Googlebot-News crawls news content, checking for relevance, schema, and adherence to Google News policies.
• Common Issue: News articles not appearing in Google News.
  • Fix: Publish high-quality, original news content with structured schema for news articles. Ensure timely updates to maintain relevancy.

5. Googlebot-Mobile – Mobile-Focused Crawler

• What It Checks For: Focuses on mobile-friendliness, usability, and load times.
• Common Issue: Poor mobile user experience, leading to lower rankings.
  • Fix: Use responsive design to ensure compatibility across devices. Run your site through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to identify and address issues like text too small to read or touch elements that are too close.

6. AdsBot-Google and AdsBot-Google-Mobile – Ad Quality Crawlers

• What They Check For: Evaluate ad landing pages for both desktop and mobile, ensuring relevance, quality, and usability.
• Common Issue: Low-quality landing pages causing poor Quality Scores for ads.
  • Fix: Make sure that landing pages are relevant to ad copy and useful to users. Test on both desktop and mobile to confirm they load quickly and are easy to navigate.

7. Mediapartners-Google – AdSense Crawler

• What It Checks For: Assesses page content to target AdSense ads.
• Common Issue: Showing ads on low-quality or irrelevant content pages.
  • Fix: Maintain high-quality content that adheres to Google’s AdSense guidelines. Avoid ads on pages with little content, which can harm ad quality scores.

8. APIs-Google – Google API Crawler

• What It Checks For: Verifies API-accessible content for security and accessibility.
• Common Issue: Exposing sensitive information through APIs.
  • Fix: Ensure API endpoints are secure and only accessible to authorized users. Follow Google’s guidelines for secure API access.

9. Feedfetcher-Google – Feed Crawler

• What It Checks For: Fetches RSS or Atom feed content for Google Discover.
• Common Issue: Duplicate or outdated content in feeds.
  • Fix: Regularly update feeds with unique, high-quality content. Follow Google Discover’s content policies for better visibility.

10. Google-Read-Aloud – Accessibility Crawler

• What It Checks For: Ensures content readability for accessibility and voice-readiness.
• Common Issue: Complex or cluttered language impacting accessibility.
  • Fix: Use simple, structured language for easy readability. Include structured data where appropriate to improve compatibility with assistive technology.

11. Duplex on the Web – Automated Task Completion Crawler

• What It Checks For: Crawls for pages with booking and form processes that can be automated.
• Common Issue: Overly complicated or lengthy forms.
  • Fix: Simplify forms and booking flows. Test usability to ensure tasks like reservations or bookings are straightforward.

12. Google Favicon – Favicon Crawler

• What It Checks For: Checks for a site’s favicon to display in search results.
• Common Issue: Missing or poorly linked favicon.
  • Fix: Ensure your favicon is accessible and linked in the <head> section of your HTML. Use a recognizable favicon that aligns with your branding.

13. Google Web Preview – Preview Crawler

• What It Checks For: Generates previews for your page in search results.
• Common Issue: Poor preview quality due to slow load times.
  • Fix: Optimize page load times to improve preview quality. Avoid blocking Google Web Preview in robots.txt.

Google Algorithms: What They Target and How to Optimize

Panda – Content Quality Algorithm

• What It Targets: Low-quality, thin, or duplicate content.
• Common Issue: Pages with little content or irrelevant information.
  • Fix: Audit and improve pages with thin content (under 300 words) by adding valuable information or combining similar pages. For example, consolidate short, low-value articles into a comprehensive guide.

Penguin – Link Quality Algorithm

• What It Targets: Spammy or manipulative backlinks.
• Common Issue: Backlinks from low-quality, irrelevant websites.
  • Fix: Regularly review your backlink profile in Google Search Console or SEO tools like Ahrefs. Disavow any harmful links and focus on building quality links by creating valuable, shareable content.

Hummingbird – Search Intent Algorithm

• What It Targets: Misalignment with search intent.
• Common Issue: Content that doesn’t match the user’s intent.
  • Fix: Use keyword research tools to understand related questions and topics. Create content that addresses these questions, using semantic keyword clusters to match intent rather than focusing on exact-match keywords.

RankBrain – Machine Learning Algorithm

• What It Targets: User engagement signals to refine search results.
• Common Issue: Low dwell time or high bounce rate.
  • Fix: Improve engagement with relevant content, good readability, and fast page speeds. Track user metrics like bounce rate and time on page to spot areas for improvement.

Mobile-First Indexing – Mobile Priority Algorithm

• What It Targets: Mobile usability and performance.
• Common Issue: Poor experience on mobile devices.
  • Fix: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly with a responsive design. Test mobile usability and loading times to address any issues.

Core Web Vitals – User Experience Algorithm

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Improve load times by compressing images and optimizing server response.
• First Input Delay (FID): Minimize JavaScript and prioritize interactive content.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Ensure visual stability by setting fixed dimensions for images and ads.

So What Are the Key Steps to Optimize for Google?

1. Create High-Quality Content: Google’s algorithms prioritize valuable, original content that matches user intent.
2. Optimize for Mobile and Speed: Mobile-first indexing and Core Web Vitals are critical to rankings.
3. Manage Backlinks Carefully: Use quality links and disavow harmful ones to avoid penalties.
4. Regularly Audit and Update: Stay ahead of issues by frequently auditing content, links, and technical factors.
5. Track Performance: Use tools like Google Search Console and Analytics to monitor traffic, engagement, and Core Web Vitals.