|
|
| I, robot: How do search engine
spiders and robots work? |
| Posted: 20-04-2006 | Views: 32 |
| Author: Philip Nicosia |
Some internet surfers still
hold on to the mistaken belief that actual people visit
each and every website and then input it for inclusion
in the search engine’s database. Imagine, if these were
true! With billions of websites available on the internet
and with a majority of these sites offering fresh content
it will take thousands of people to achieve the tasks
made by search engine spiders and robots – and even then
they won’t be as efficient or as thorough.
Search engine spiders and robots are pieces of code or
software that have only one aim – seek content on the
internet and within each and every individual web page
out there. These tools have a very important role in how
effectively search engines operate.
Search engine spiders and robots visit websites and get
the necessary information that it needs to determine the
nature and content of the website and then adds the data
to the search engine’s index. Search engine spiders and
robots follow links from one website to another so that
it can consistently and infinitely gather the necessary
information. The ultimate goal of search engine spiders
and robots is to compile a comprehensive and valuable
database that can deliver the most relevant results to
the search queries of visitors.
But how exactly do search engine spiders and robots work?
The whole process begins when a web page is sent to a
search engine for submission. The submitted URL is added
to the queue of websites that will be visited by the search
engine spider. Submissions can be optional though because
most spiders will be able to find the content in a web
page if other websites link to the page. This is the reason
why it is a good idea to build reciprocal links with other
website. By enhancing the link popularity of your website
and getting links from other sites that have the same
topic as your website.
When the search engine spider robot visits the website,
it checks if there is an existing robots.txt file. The
file tells the robot which areas of the site are off limits
to its probe – like certain directories that have no use
for search engines. All search engine bots look for this
text file so it is a good idea to put one even if it is
blank.
The robots list and store all of the links found on a
page and they follow each link to its destination website
or page.
The robots then submit all of this information to the
search engine, which in turn compiles the data received
from all the bots and builds the search engine database.
This part of the process already has the intervention
of search engine engineers who write the algorithms employed
in evaluating and scoring the information that the search
engine bots compiled. The moment all of the information
is added to the search engine database this information
is already made available to search engine visitors who
are making search queries in the search engine.
XML-Sitemaps.com offers a free online sitemap generator
that creates Google Sitemaps, Text Sitemaps for Yahoo
and HTML Sitemaps to help spiders index your site more
thoroughly.
This article is free for republishing
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/ |
|
|
|
|
|
