What is crawling in SEO?

You may have heard or read about the term 'Crawling' websites for Google, but what is crawling in SEO, and how does it impact you?

Crawling is a fundamental process in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), where search engines like Google send bots (also known as spiders or crawlers) to explore websites on the internet. These bots navigate through web pages, following links and collecting information about the content.

How Does Crawling Work?

• Starting Point: The crawling process often begins with a list of known URLs, which can include popular websites, sitemaps, and previously crawled pages.
• Link Following: As the bot visits a webpage, it identifies all the links on the page. It then follows these links to discover new pages and continues the process recursively.
• Content Analysis: When a bot reaches a new page, it analyses the content to understand its topic, relevance, and quality. This includes factors like keywords, titles, images, and metadata.
• Indexing: If the content is deemed valuable and relevant, the bot indexes the page and stores information about it in the search engine's database.

What is Indexing in SEO?

Indexing is the process of storing information about web pages in a search engine's database. When a user searches for a keyword or phrase, the search engine uses its index to find relevant pages and display them in the search results.

Crawling and indexing are interconnected processes. Crawling identifies new pages and collects information about them, whilst indexing stores this information in the search engine's database for future use.

Factors Affecting Crawling and Indexing

Several factors can influence how often a website is crawled and indexed:

• Sitemap: A sitemap provides a structured list of a website's pages, making it easier for search engines to discover and crawl them.
• Internal Linking: A well-structured internal linking structure helps search engines navigate your website efficiently.
• Mobile-Friendliness: Search engines prioritise mobile-friendly websites in their rankings.
• Page Speed: Faster load times can improve user experience and encourage search engines to crawl your site more frequently.
• Fresh Content: Regularly updated content can signal to search engines that your website is active and relevant.

By understanding the concepts of crawling and indexing, you can optimise your website to improve its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more organic traffic.