Key Takeaways
- Web crawlers help search engines discover and index site content.
- Monitoring crawler activity can highlight errors or performance issues.
- Tools like robots.txt offer control over which bots access your site.
- Understanding crawler types allows for more competent SEO and Content strategy.
Search engines and digital platforms rely on automated tools known as web crawlers to scan and index content across the internet. These bots play a key role in how content appears in search results. For site owners, developers, and marketers, knowing which crawlers visit your website can help manage server resources, analyze traffic, and fine-tune visibility strategies.
This guide outlines a crawler list of the most active web crawlers in 2025. It provides insights into their behavior, how they impact site performance, and what sets each apart.
What Are Web Crawlers and How Do They Work?
Web crawlers, sometimes called spiders or bots, are scripts that search engines and tools use to scan web pages. They start from a list of URLs and follow links on each page to discover more content. As they move through websites, crawlers collect data such as page titles, meta tags, links, images, and overall content structure.
The data they gather is then sent back to search engine databases for indexing. This process helps determine what results appear when someone searches online.
How Web Crawlers Affect Your Website
Web crawlers influence how your site performs in search results. When properly configured, crawlers can:
✅ Help your pages get indexed quickly
✅ Detect broken links or server issues
✅ Identify duplicate or thin content
Too many visits from crawlers, however, can consume server bandwidth. That’s why many websites manage bot activity using robots.txt files or server-side rules.
Crawler List: Most Common Web Crawlers in 2025 (At a Glance)
| Crawler Name | Type | Key Functions | Pros | Cons |
| Googlebot | Search engine bot | Indexes for Google Search | Fast, reliable, respects directives | Can crawl heavily if not limited |
| Bingbot | Search engine bot | Indexes for Bing | Mobile-ready, efficient | Updates less frequently |
| Yandex Bot | Search engine bot | Russian search coverage | Good for global sites | May stress servers |
| Applebot | Assistant data bot | Powers Siri and Spotlight | Privacy-aware, follows rules | Limited documentation |
| DuckDuckBot | Search engine bot | Privacy-focused indexing | Anonymous, quick | Low crawl frequency |
| Baidu Spider | Search engine bot | Chinese indexing | Reach the Chinese audience | Non-standard behaviors |
| Sogou Spider | Search engine bot | Chinese market indexing | Voice/text search | Resource-heavy |
| Facebook External Hit | Social media bot | Creates Facebook link previews | Boosts social visibility | No SEO value |
| Exabot | Indexing bot | Gathers data for Exalead | Structured data support | Limited reach |
| Swiftbot | Search service bot | Cloudflare index service | Secure, modern | Still expanding |
| Slurp Bot | Search engine bot | Yahoo’s web crawler | Legacy content support | Low activity |
| CCBot | Open data bot | Builds free crawl dataset | Public access | Not mainstream |
| GoogleOther | Supplementary Google bot | Handles other non-core crawl tasks | Lightens Googlebot load | Still adds to server demand |
| Google-InspectionTool | Diagnostic bot | Performs technical checks | Helps audits | Narrow focus |
| SEMrushBot | SEO analytics bot | Gathers data for SEMrush | Insightful for marketers | High crawl volume |
| AhrefsBot | Backlink checker | Monitors links and authority | Useful link insights | Heavy crawler load |
| MojeekBot | Independent search bot | Indexes for Mojeek | Privacy-first | Limited exposure |
| Twitterbot | Social media bot | Loads Twitter link previews | Better post previews | No impact on SEO |
| Pinterestbot | Visual crawler | Saves content for Pinterest boards | Image-based sharing | Resource usage |
| LinkedInBot | Social link bot | Generates LinkedIn content previews | Helps with engagement | Social-only scope |
| Rogerbot | SEO diagnostics bot | Supports Moz tools | SEO health tracking | Not widely discussed |
| Majestic-12 | Distributed bot | Maps backlink structures | Strong for link research | Server strain |
| Archive.org Bot | Archiving bot | Captures web page snapshots | Preserves old content | No direct SEO effect |
Top 22+ Common Web Crawlers in 2025
Crawlers Specialized in Search Engine Indexing ↓
1. Googlebot
Googlebot is the primary crawler used by Google to discover and index content across the web. It adapts based on mobile-first indexing and user behavior.
Key Features
- Mobile-first indexing support
- Rapid updates for new content
- Adheres to crawl directives in robots.txt
Pros & Cons
✓ Fast and accurate indexing
✓ Regular updates to ranking logic
✓ Respects site preferences
✗ Can increase crawl load if not managed
2. Bingbot
Bingbot is Microsoft’s crawler for indexing content for Bing search results. It operates similarly to Googlebot with its indexing criteria.
Key Features
- Works well with HTML5 and modern frameworks
- Supports canonical tags
- Integrates with Bing Webmaster Tools
Pros & Cons
✓ Comprehensive crawl coverage
✓ Provides useful diagnostics via tools
✗ Slower content refresh rate than Googlebot
3. Yandex Bot
Yandex Bot is used by Russia’s largest search engine, Yandex. It supports multilingual content and deeply indexes pages.
Key Features
- Advanced language parsing
- Local relevance for Russian-speaking users
- Recrawls frequently
Pros & Cons
✓ Effective for Russian markets
✓ Deep page analysis
✗ Can consume server bandwidth
4. Baidu Spider
Baidu Spider crawls websites for China’s top search engine, Baidu. It’s essential for brands targeting Chinese users.
Key Features
- Optimized for Chinese-language indexing
- Works with Baidu Webmaster Tools
- Requires fast-loading pages
Pros & Cons
✓ Dominant presence in China
✓ Local search compatibility
✗ May not follow robots.txt standards
5. Sogou Spider
Sogou Spider supports voice and text search for China-based audiences. It’s widely used for indexing regional content.
Key Features
- Voice recognition support
- Chinese market focus
- Deep crawling of text-heavy sites
Pros & Cons
✓ Reaches niche Chinese audiences
✓ Advanced search algorithms
✗ Can slow down servers
6. MojeekBot
MojeekBot is used by the independent search engine Mojeek, offering a private alternative to major engines.
Key Features
- Indexes without tracking
- Non-biased results
- Lightweight bot
Pros & Cons
✓ Privacy-first
✓ Supports independent web indexing
✗ Limited visibility
Crawlers Specialized in Social Media Previews ↓
7. Facebook External Hit
This bot generates link previews for Facebook posts by fetching content metadata.
Key Features
- Retrieves OG tags and images
- Supports Open Graph
- Runs on shared links only
Pros & Cons
✓ Enhances content preview
✓ Boosts share visibility
✗ Does not index pages for SEO
8. Twitterbot
Twitterbot fetches preview content for Twitter posts to generate link cards.
Key Features
- Supports Twitter cards
- Pulls image and title metadata
- Activated on share
Pros & Cons
✓ Improves link appearance
✓ Lightweight and fast
✗ No SEO contribution
9. Pinterestbot
Pinterestbot scans websites for images to add to user boards.
Key Features
- Image discovery
- Fetches pin metadata
- Recognizes schema tags
Pros & Cons
✓ Drives visual traffic
✓ Promotes evergreen content
✗ Image-heavy load
10. LinkedInBot
LinkedInBot fetches metadata to show link previews when content is shared on LinkedIn.
Key Features
- Displays title, image, and meta description
- Real-time fetching
- Detects rich preview content
Pros & Cons
✓ Enhances visibility on LinkedIn
✓ Simple meta extraction
✗ Impact limited to the LinkedIn platform
Crawlers Specialized in SEO and Data Tools ↓
11. SEMrushBot
SEMrushBot is used to collect ranking and SEO data for SEMrush’s suite of tools.
Key Features
- Backlink scanning
- On-page SEO checks
- Regular crawl frequency
Pros & Cons
✓ Valuable SEO data
✓ Powerful for audits
✗ May increase bot traffic
12. AhrefsBot
AhrefsBot powers backlink analysis and site monitoring for the Ahrefs platform.
Key Features
- Backlink mapping
- Traffic estimation
- Competitive insights
Pros & Cons
✓ Deep SEO data
✓ Useful for link research
✗ Can consume bandwidth quickly
13. Rogerbot
Rogerbot is used by Moz to scan websites for SEO reporting and crawl diagnostics.
Key Features
- Technical SEO reviews
- On-site issue detection
- Site structure mapping
Pros & Cons
✓ Great for SEO audits
✓ Visual crawl maps
✗ Not as widely recognized
14. Majestic-12
Majestic-12 is a distributed web crawler that gathers link intelligence data for Majestic.
Key Features
- Distributed crawling network
- Focus on link indexing
- Supports site comparisons
Pros & Cons
✓ Strong backlink tracking
✓ Covers historical link data
✗ Can overuse resources
Other Specialized Crawlers ↓
15. Applebot
Applebot is responsible for indexing content for Siri and Spotlight search suggestions across Apple devices.
Key Features
- Gathers data for Siri responses
- Focuses on mobile experience
- Supports structured data
Pros & Cons
✓ Privacy-focused crawling
✓ Minimal load
✗ Sparse documentation for developers
16. DuckDuckBot
DuckDuckBot powers DuckDuckGo’s private search results. It collects data while avoiding user tracking.
Key Features
- Non-tracking bot behavior
- Prioritizes high-quality sources
- Low crawl frequency
Pros & Cons
✓ Strong privacy focus
✓ Efficient and lightweight
✗ Updates less frequently
- Exabot
Exabot collects data primarily for Exalead and other indexing projects in Europe.
Key Features
- Captures structured content
- Operates mainly in Europe
- Supports metadata extraction
Pros & Cons
✓ Structured data indexing
✓ Good for multilingual content
✗ Limited global usage
18. Swiftbot
Swiftbot is associated with Cloudflare’s indexing and scanning tools for improving performance.
Key Features
- Works within Cloudflare’s infrastructure
- Prioritizes secure browsing
- Fast scanning protocol
Pros & Cons
✓ Secure and reliable
✓ Quick page scans
✗ Smaller scope of activity
19. Slurp Bot
Slurp Bot serves Yahoo’s indexing system. While less active now, it still indexes legacy pages.
Key Features
- Basic crawling
- Archives older web content
- Slower updates
Pros & Cons
✓ Preserves legacy content
✓ Recognizes older web formats
✗ Not updated regularly
20. CCBot
CCBot powers the open-source Common Crawl project. It indexes large portions of the internet for public research.
Key Features
- Open data focus
- Broad indexing
- Used in data science
Pros & Cons
✓ Data is publicly accessible
✓ Supports academic use
✗ Not intended for SEO insights
21. GoogleOther
GoogleOther handles background crawling for Google services unrelated to search.
Key Features
- Offloads tasks from Googlebot
- Checks CDN content and APIs
- Operates with Google Cloud
Pros & Cons
✓ Reduces crawl strain from Googlebot
✓ Background support
✗ Can still impact bandwidth
22. Google-InspectionTool
This crawler helps audit websites during URL inspections and debugging.
Key Features
- Integrated with Search Console
- Finds page issues
- Spotlights core web vitals
Pros & Cons
✓ Direct SEO insights
✓ Pinpoints problems
✗ Only runs during inspections
23. Archive.org Bot
This bot captures versions of pages for the Wayback Machine, preserving web history.
Key Features
- Archives website snapshots
- Useful for research and recovery
- Non-intrusive crawling
Pros & Cons
✓ Helps save site history
✓ Useful for old content access
✗ Doesn’t aid SEO
Wrap Up
Knowing the crawlers that access your site helps in managing bandwidth, improving page indexing, and gaining better visibility. By recognizing the major bots in 2025, you can choose when and how to welcome or restrict them. Keep robots.txt files updated and monitor server logs regularly for better performance.
Q. What is a web crawler?
A. A web crawler is a program that scans the internet to read and index content for search engines or tools.
Q. Why should I care about which bots visit my site?
A. Monitoring bot activity can help reduce server load, fix SEO issues, and guide content strategies.
Q. How do I block or manage a bot?
A. You can control bot access with your robots.txt file or server settings. Blocking is useful for unwanted crawlers.
Q. Are all web crawlers safe?
A. Most well-known crawlers are safe. Still, keep an eye on unknown bots as some may scrape data or cause high traffic spikes.
Q. How do crawlers impact search rankings?
A. Crawlers index your content, so the more accessible and structured your pages are, the better your visibility can be.
Sandhya Goswami
Sandhya is a contributing author at Cloudways, specializing in content promotion and performance analysis. With a strong analytical approach and a keen ability to leverage data-driven insights, Sandhya excels in measuring the success of organic marketing initiatives.
