Introducing the Web Crawlers, the Unsung Heroes of the Internet
In this digital age, Web Crawlers are the unsung heroes of the world wide web. Known to many as spiders or bots, these digital explorers tirelessly journey through the internet’s vast network in search of data and information. Businesses, therefore, rely on web crawlers to collect and analyze large amounts of data for their online business objectives.Though web crawlers are often seen as just tools for harvesting data, they are also at the forefront of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Without them, research and development in these fields would be severely hindered, as scientists and researchers rely on the data collected by crawlers to train and test their models as part of scraping process.
So, the next time you're surfing the web, pause to take a moment to appreciate the work of web crawlers. They may be behind the scenes, but their impact on the internet and humanity as a whole is remarkable indeed.
What are web crawlers?
Web crawlers also known as spiders or bots are computer programs that automatically browse the world wide web to get information either for indexing, storage or data analysis.
Web crawlers can be classified into different groups based on activities and functions as follows:
Search engine crawlers: They browse the internet to index pages for search engines and query responses. Examples are Googlebot, Bingbot, Yahoobot, Yandex, Baidu and Duckduckgo.
Constant crawlers: These bots browse the internet non-stop to gather information, especially for search indexing. Examples are Googlebot and Bingbot.
On-demand Crawlers: These are web spiders that access specific pages on demand. Examples of these bots are ones used by SEO tools likes like SEObility, Hrefs, etc.
In-house web crawlers: These crawlers are developed by organizations to solve their internal web issues and gather data for their business growth. Example is Googlebot that as well helps the organization.
Open source web crawlers: These are free crawlers provided for businesses to use for free online solutions. Example is Scrapy.
Commercial web crawlers: These spiders are run mostly by Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and web solution companies for commercial purposes, where organizations pay to access their services for their business solutions.
Web crawlers can make web navigation a breeze, and they power several useful functions. Here are a few benefits of using web crawlers:
Benefits of Using Web Crawlers to Businesses
- Search engines Functionality:
Web crawlers help search engines identify and index content – improving search query accuracy. Example of such crawlers is the popular Googlebot. Others are Bingbot and Yandex.- Web Archives and Bookmarks
Web crawlers are essential to web archives because they are programmed to find and copy content from websites, so that it can be stored for future generations. Wikipedia and some bookmarking platforms and archives employs these forms of crawlers.- Data Collection (Web Scraping):
Web crawlers also known as web scrapers provide a convenient way to quickly and efficiently collect large amounts of data from the internet. This data can be used for a range of purposes, from research projects to making informed business decisions.- Competitive Intelligence
Web crawlers allow businesses to track their competitors’ websites and stay abreast of product pricing, marketing strategies, and other key information. This data can be used to make adjustments to the company’s strategy to stay ahead of the competition.Popular website SEO platforms employ these crawlers for competitors analysis and performance comparison.
- Copyright tracking:
Web crawlers help writers determine the ownership of their work by collecting information about when and where works were first posted.- Analytical and Qualitative Alerts:
For site administrators, web crawlers can be a life-saver. They scan webpages for broken links and notify site administrators so the broken links can be removed. They also enhance detection of changes on web pages which are vital for SEO and website functionality.- Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
Web crawlers are beneficial for search engine optimization (SEO) because they can gather data on a website’s structure, content, and keywords.These data can be used to improve the website’s search engine ranking, resulting in increased visibility and traffic. This is how SEObility, Semrush, Hrefs, and other SEO tools are able to function.
- Content Monitoring:
Web crawlers are also useful for content monitoring, providing alerts to users whenever changes are made or new content is added. This helps ensure businesses and individuals are always up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in their industry.- E-Commerce survey:
For e-commerce websites, web crawlers can give businesses an edge in product pricing by gathering pricing information from competitors. This information can be used to analyze product offerings and adjust pricing.- Research and general analytical techniques:
Finally, web crawlers can be used for research purposes. By gathering data on topics like public opinion, societal trends, and social media, businesses and researchers alike can gain valuable insights to inform decision-making.Overall, web crawlers offer numerous advantages to businesses. By harvesting data, providing competitive intelligence, assisting with SEO, monitoring content, and gathering information for research, web crawlers help businesses to make informed decisions.
Roles of Crawlers on Site's SEO and Ranking
Crawling technologies, such as SEObility, Hrefs, Semrush, Small SEO Tools, Screaming Frog and Deepcrawl, can help you assess the health of your website. With the help of these tools, you can detect broken links, duplicate content and incorrectly sized page titles.
Broken Links:
Broken links are backlinks which do not exist again, either removed by the third party website or by other factors which are mostly external.
Broken links can create a bad user experience and lower your SERP ranking. Using a crawling tool can help you detect when links point to a page that no longer exists and take steps to fix the issue.
Duplicate Content:
When content appears multiple times on separate URLs, it can be difficult for search engines to determine which version is relevant to a user's search query.
Crawlers will help you detect double content on your site which you can then resolved either through a 301 redirect or other means
Page Titles:
Improperly sized page titles can have an effect on how your pages get ranked.
Crawling technologies powered by the functionality of crawlers can help you identify if titles are duplicated, missing, too long or too short and will offer you a crew on how to to fix the problem.
Image and videos optimization:
The quality of an image or video is vital for the optimization of a website content. When the image or video is not properly sized, labeled or titled, it can pose a risk of content not getting indexed.Through the numerous SEO and crawler tools, you can sort out this issue by offering your image in correct format, size and quality.
Most Popular Web Crawlers to Boost Your Business
A. Search Engine Bots
1. Googlebot: How it works
Googlebot is the boss of the internet as Google is the most used searched engine in the world handling over 3 billion to 6 billion queries each year. If your content miss out Googlebot, then you have already missed over 80% of the traffic that would have come to your site.
Just like other search engine bots, when Googlebot visits webpages, what it does is to analyze the robot.txt file to know the rules on which content to index or not. The bot then read the content and store the optimized copies in Google’s massive search engine index where internet users can access at any time.
The indexed pages are further analyzed by the Googlebot based on the content, links, and metadata to determine if such pages are relevance to a certain search queries. It is through this complex algorithm process of data collection and information extraction that Googlebot is able to provide online visibility to web pages, making it easier for users to find a website when searching on Google.
Googlebot also checks for any changes made to a website over time by returning to the previously indexed pages and checking them against new versions. This ensures that changes or updates are reflected in the search engine results.
Just like other search engine bots, when Googlebot visits webpages, what it does is to analyze the robot.txt file to know the rules on which content to index or not. The bot then read the content and store the optimized copies in Google’s massive search engine index where internet users can access at any time.
The indexed pages are further analyzed by the Googlebot based on the content, links, and metadata to determine if such pages are relevance to a certain search queries. It is through this complex algorithm process of data collection and information extraction that Googlebot is able to provide online visibility to web pages, making it easier for users to find a website when searching on Google.
Googlebot also checks for any changes made to a website over time by returning to the previously indexed pages and checking them against new versions. This ensures that changes or updates are reflected in the search engine results.
Googlebot is used to keep Google’s huge index of the web up-to-date. By doing so, it helps make sure that users get the information they need when they search the web.
To boost your business and website SEO through Googlebot, simply make use of Google webmaster tools like Google Search Console as the spider is automatically integrated to help quick indexing of your content.
2. Bingbot
Bingbot is another popular web crawling robot (web crawler) belonging to Microsoft. This bot began operation in 2010 to specifically handle Microsoft search tools just like Googlebot is to Google. Bingbot is one of the largest crawlers in the world only surpassed by the almighty Google crawler.
Data from Statistica shows that while Google has a commanding lead in the global search engine
market, with a market share of 92.05% as of 2022. Bing, its closest competitor, has a market share of just 2.44%. This information has changed in 2023 following the rising of ChatGPT and other search alternatives.
Recent data shows that Bing has obtained more visitors as a result of the integration of ChatGPT across Microsoft browsers. In the new record, Google remains at the top with market share of 87% while Bing kicks up to over 6-10% search market share. Even so, Bing dominates most desktop searches and boasts of about 70-85% desktop searches in the US.
Bing also offers Bing Webmaster Tools to enhance your content indexing across Microsoft and partners platforms.
3. Yahoobot, Baidu, Yandex, and DuckduckGo
These four web crawlers have worked tiredlessly with Googlebot and Bingbot to make the web search easy for everyone. Their total search market share goes in the order listed above. This means that the topmost search engine bots are Googlebot, Bingbot, Yahoo, Baidu, Yandex, and finally, DuckduckGo. Their combined market share is approximately 3-4% of total search queries.
a. Yahoobot is an autoresponder web crawler owned by the parent company, Yahoo. Yahoo is a top tech and media company based in the US and boast of billions of search queries each year. Yahoo has integrated several crawlers across its tools and software including web crawlers and mailbot.
b. Baidu formerly RankDex is a Chinese search engine. The company offers other services like Baidu map and its all thank to its search bot. It is one of the top AI and tech companies in the world. So, if you need more traffic from China and nearby region, try to invite Baidu as well. The company's plan to integrate a conversational AI, Plato-XL across its platforms means Baidu is another thing to watch on the AI competitive market.
c. Yandex bot a web crawler owned by a Russian multinational company, Yandex. The company claims over 60% of all searches in Russia, allowing other bots to fight over the remaining 40%. Different browsers, including Phoenix had already offered Yandex as an alternative default search tools.
d. DuckduckGo: Not much people know about this amazing crawler. It is an internet privacy search crawler that offers mobile browser and desktop app search services. The company which runs the bot prevents it from saving user's information like cookies or personal data. This makes it one of the top crawlers, especially used by people who prioritize protecting their online privacy.
For Yandex, you can submit your URL here to access their webmaster tools. However, most of the available crawlers automatically access website contents once such contents are available on top search engines or requested by the user. Ensure your SEO is good and ranking well on top search engines; they might equally appear across different platforms.
Do you find it difficult to rank your content high or get it them indexed by crawlers? Contact an SEO professional.
B. Web Scrapers and SEO Tools
While the above crawlers are primarily search engine spiders, the below bots are mostly web scrapers. Search crawlers mostly browse the internet to collect information ins respond to user queries while scrapers are for data collection.
4. ScraperAPI
The proxy rotation feature also helps to avoid bot detections as websites can detect when high requests come from the same IP address. Plus, it adapts to changing proxy IPs which replaces the old ones every 10 minutes.
Another advantage of using ScraperAPI is the effortless integration with various coding languages, such as Python, Java, and Ruby. They provide many examples, as well as tutorials making it easy to use.
All in all, ScraperAPI is an ideal solution for developers to scrape websites while also exploring accessibility features and support for web scraping tasks. Thanks to its features that make it possible to quickly access raw HTML with a single API request, web scrapers are made easier.
5. ZenRows
ZenRows is the perfect solution for web scraping needs. Its unparalleled simplicity of use allows you to gather data from numerous websites without being stopped.
In addition, it has features like rotating proxies, headless browsers, and geotargeting to help you with your web crawling projects. You can even get started for free, with 1000 API credits to kickstart your project. After that, you can subscribe to their paid plans.
6. Apify
The best thing about Apify is that even non-developers can use it to gather data from websites, perform automatic content updates, and manage their online presence and website performance. With Apify, one can easily build sophisticated web automation apps in a minimum time frame.
The platform's user interface (UI), also makes it easy for users to create bots and scheduled tasks that will perform web automation tasks like data extraction, automation of complex form submissions, and data aggregation from multiple sources. Apify also offers powerful developer features such as webhooks and auto-retry.
With Apify's webhooks, users can trigger actions when a change occurs as part of its automation function. Apps can also run continuously even when a task fails, making it possible to handle intermittent problems and errors, a function known as "auto-retry". This and other functions make Apify popular tool for both developers and non-developers in their online processes.
7. Screaming Frog
It is an invaluable tool for web developers, SEOs, digital marketers, and content strategists. The platform is user-friendly, and can help in quick and extensive website crawling.
Screaming Flog can be help businesses assess their websites to measure its performance, analyze it, or to identify critical issues on web pages such as broken links, duplicate content, or missing meta data, which can then be used to make improvements and boost a website’s performance. The website tool offers a variety of functions including the ability to customize the crawling process, export reports in a variety of formats, and integrate with external applications such as Google Analytics and Moz Rank Tracker.
The tool is recommendable for SEOs and online marketers who need a simple way to audit websites. It helps to quickly identify problems such as broken links, duplicate content, or missing meta data, which can then be used to make improvements and boost a website’s performance. By making website auditing available in a simple and convenient way, Screaming Frog helps to give online businesses a competitive edge.
Scrapy is an open-source web crawling library that allows programmers to create spiders by themselves for free and extract data from the web in a faster and more efficient way. The library provides the perfect solution for those looking for a reliable and versatile library to automate web crawling.
Scrapy program is written in Python, bears a Python-based open-source library and pre-structured with an organized data extracting system and Application Programming Interface (API) that makes writing, running, and debugging crawlers quite easy. This library works like a charm in all popular operating systems - Windows, Linux, and macOS.
In addition, Scrapy’s framework is highly flexible and easy to customize, hence, programmers can customize it to their heart’s content and use it to crawl any website based on what they want to achieve. This makes Scrapy a good choice for professionals who want to conduct massive web crawling operations in a hassle-free way.
Screaming Flog can be help businesses assess their websites to measure its performance, analyze it, or to identify critical issues on web pages such as broken links, duplicate content, or missing meta data, which can then be used to make improvements and boost a website’s performance. The website tool offers a variety of functions including the ability to customize the crawling process, export reports in a variety of formats, and integrate with external applications such as Google Analytics and Moz Rank Tracker.
The tool is recommendable for SEOs and online marketers who need a simple way to audit websites. It helps to quickly identify problems such as broken links, duplicate content, or missing meta data, which can then be used to make improvements and boost a website’s performance. By making website auditing available in a simple and convenient way, Screaming Frog helps to give online businesses a competitive edge.
8. HTTrack:
Are you looking for a free web crawling application to download entire web pages onto your PC? Look no further than HTTrack! Not only is this application incredibly flexible, but it also allows users to store and view all website media, from texts to photos, even when they’re offline (not connected to the internet). You can easily Download HTTrack and begin to use it.9. Scrapy
Scrapy program is written in Python, bears a Python-based open-source library and pre-structured with an organized data extracting system and Application Programming Interface (API) that makes writing, running, and debugging crawlers quite easy. This library works like a charm in all popular operating systems - Windows, Linux, and macOS.
In addition, Scrapy’s framework is highly flexible and easy to customize, hence, programmers can customize it to their heart’s content and use it to crawl any website based on what they want to achieve. This makes Scrapy a good choice for professionals who want to conduct massive web crawling operations in a hassle-free way.
10. Mozenda
Mozenda is a web scraper that helps organizations extract data from the web quickly and easily. The scraper can pull data from different sources, including webpages, APIs, databases, and CSV files. It enables users to scrape data from multiple webpages, store and export the data in various formats, such as Excel, HTML, XML, and CSV.The platform's interface simplifies the process of selecting data elements from each webpage, allowing businesses to build efficient web-scraping pipelines in an easy manner.
Mozender also provides intelligent form-filling capabilities, which enable users to fill forms automatically, thereby eliminating the need to enter data manually. Other features on the Mozenda platform are data protection and security features, such as IP spoofing, user authentication, and encryption.
Mozenda is an ideal crawler for many purposes, from collecting online comments for sentiment analysis, to monitoring pricing within competitor websites, to scraping contact information for lead generation, data enrichment, web-scraping management and data extraction.
Mozender also provides intelligent form-filling capabilities, which enable users to fill forms automatically, thereby eliminating the need to enter data manually. Other features on the Mozenda platform are data protection and security features, such as IP spoofing, user authentication, and encryption.
Mozenda is an ideal crawler for many purposes, from collecting online comments for sentiment analysis, to monitoring pricing within competitor websites, to scraping contact information for lead generation, data enrichment, web-scraping management and data extraction.
Mozenda features and pricing makes it one of the best web-crawler/scraper for organizations carrying data analysis either for business analysis or general research purposes.
The service begins with a free trial, then payment begins after about 2 weeks. Overall, it’s worth considering Import.io if you’re looking for a powerful web crawling tool with advanced features. It has the capability to collect exactly the kind of data you’re looking for.
11. Import.io
If you’re looking for a powerful web crawling tool with advanced features, Import.io is worth considering. It offers a range of features designed to make data collection easier for those without coding skills. This includes custom reports, geolocation, CAPTCHA resolution and more. It even offers daily or monthly reports depending on your needs.The service begins with a free trial, then payment begins after about 2 weeks. Overall, it’s worth considering Import.io if you’re looking for a powerful web crawling tool with advanced features. It has the capability to collect exactly the kind of data you’re looking for.
12. UiPath
Uipath is an AI-powered business automation platform. UiPath’s robotic process automation software is an invaluable tool that can be used to tackle many different tasks. Its array of features includes a visual workflow designer that makes it easy to create complex workflows for business processes.The robotic process automation software (RPA) such that is provided by UiPath is a software technology that enables users to build, deploy and manage robot technology that can interact with digital systems and emulate human behaviors in online task performance.
These software robots can carry out jobs similar to humans such as understanding what is shown on a screen, entering relevant commands, navigating software systems, collecting and analyzing data, and executing areas of predetermined activities. But unlike humans, these robots accomplish the same tasks quicker and more reliably without needing to take a pause or take a coffee break.
UiPath's visual interface through these robot software lets user map out the automation process, step-by-step, which makes it easier to understand which tasks are being completed in what order. Additionally, UiPath’s automation software is extremely user-friendly, allowing businesses at all levels of technical proficiency to easily utilize its features for their growths.
UiPath also allows for greater scalability than its competitors, making it the perfect solution for organizations of varying sizes. With its wide array of functions, UiPath can easily be adjusted to suit the needs of businesses ranging from small sole proprietorships to large-scale corporations.
Thanks to UiPath’s software, businesses around the world are able to more efficiently automate complex tasks, freeing up valuable time and resources. With UiPath’s automation capabilities, businesses have the potential to improve their overall efficiency and increase their bottom line.
13. WebHarvy
Benefiting from the latest technologies, WebHarvy makes extracting data from web pages blazing fast! This web crawler not only supports extracting HTML, photos, text and URLs but also allows full access to any website even if it’s blocked. With its straightforward interface, you don’t need to be a coding specialist to use this program – anyone who is willing to can easily access and download the desired data.The great news is that WebHarvy plans accommodate the needs of any user: there is a Single License Plan for just $99, and the Unlimited Users plan is available for $499. With WebHarvy, you also have a possibility to connect to the censored webpages via proxy services or a VPN. All of that makes WebHarvy an amazing time-saving tool for any kind of data-related business.
14. Webz.io
As a business or researcher, you likely know how arduous data collection can be. With the sheer expanse of the internet, manually searching through various webpages and domains can be an impossible (and often time-consuming) task. Thankfully, Webz.io has come to the rescue with its innovative content crawling technology!Webz.io allows users to quickly and easily extract and organize data from the internet into a format that can easily be consumed by machines. Not only does this simplify and speed up the data collection process, it also ensures that the data is of the highest quality and accuracy. Additionally, Webz.io offers both a free and premium plan, which can be tailored to a user's specific requirements.
The free plan allows users to make up to 1000 requests. For those who have more demanding requirements, Webz.io also offers a premium plan; however, it's recommended that users consult with the experienced sales team before upgrading. With the sleek user interface and helpful user support, Webz.io really sets itself apart from the competition in terms of quality and convenience.
Whether you’re a business or researcher, Webz.io’s innovative content crawling technology is an essential tool that can help you quickly and effectively process large amounts of data and get the job done.
15. OutWit Hub
OutWit Hub is the perfect resource for those who need to quickly and efficiently extract data from webpages, blogs, and other internet sources without needing to write any code. It's great if you don't have programming skills but still need to make web crawls and data extractions.OutWit Hub offers both a free and pro version of the platform, giving users the flexibility to pick the plan that best suits their needs and budget. The pro version, which costs $59.90 a month, provides users with additional features and functionalities.
OutWit Hub is a great tool to have in your arsenal when it comes time to extract data from the web due to its simple but effective interface. Not only is it useful for extracting straightforward text and straight-forward data, but it can also be used to capture more complex items such as images, links, and more.
However, there is one major downside to consider — as OutWit Hub is a powerful tool, it is susceptible to being identified and blocked by antibots. Despite this, OutWit Hub still remains one of the most effective platforms for web crawling and data extraction from various online sources.
16. Zyte for Data Extraction:
Do you need an affordable and reliable data extraction program? Look no further than Zyte! A cloud-based program, Zyte leverages APIs to extract data quickly and easily.With features such as smart proxy management, headless browser support, and residential proxies, it is the best program for data extraction. The cost of the program starts as low as $29 per month, and the great news is that they offer a 14-day free trial so you can test out the program before committing to it. Additionally, users can even receive a 10% discount on yearly plans.
Using Zyte to extract data is relatively simple. All you need to do is connect your web scraping tasks to your own set of proxies, and then launch scraping tasks with the provided configuration. The program will extract data from the targeted websites and then present it to you in an organized format. This way, you can use the data to create a competitive advantage for your business or to achieve other goals.
When you're ready to export the data, it's simple and fast; you can download your data as either CSV or JSON files, or save it on cloud storage services such as Google Drive and Box.net. And with our premium solutions starting at just $119 per month, it's never been easier to gather the data you need with Dexi.io.
Get started today and let us help you make your web crawling process swift and easy!
ParseHub offers a unique web crawling program that can scrape dynamic web pages. Through the help of machine learning, their website crawler can recognize the toughest online sites and generate output files with the correct data formats.
Using Zyte to extract data is relatively simple. All you need to do is connect your web scraping tasks to your own set of proxies, and then launch scraping tasks with the provided configuration. The program will extract data from the targeted websites and then present it to you in an organized format. This way, you can use the data to create a competitive advantage for your business or to achieve other goals.
17. Dexi.io
At Dexi.io, you can easily set up web crawlers with our browser-based editor to help you collect data from e-commerce websites. It's simple to use and reliable – with a few clicks, you'll be able to start collecting the data you need in no time! Plus, if you don't plan on needing the data for an extended period of time, you can take advantage of our 14-day free trial before deciding if our premium solutions are right for you!When you're ready to export the data, it's simple and fast; you can download your data as either CSV or JSON files, or save it on cloud storage services such as Google Drive and Box.net. And with our premium solutions starting at just $119 per month, it's never been easier to gather the data you need with Dexi.io.
Get started today and let us help you make your web crawling process swift and easy!
18. ParseHub?
The platform supports all platforms such Windows, Linux, and Mac Mac. It is one of the best web scraper for data collection.
In conclusion, there are many web crawlers out there which can help your business growth and benefit your website SEO. They can be search engine bots, web scrapers and somehow on-demand crawlers like the SEO bots which we will deliberate on our next article.
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