Crawled as: Googlebot desktop means that a web crawler called Googlebot Desktop has visited and crawled your website. Googlebot Desktop is a type of web crawler that simulates a user on a desktop computer. It visits your website, follows links, and reads the content of your pages. This information is then used to index your website and make it searchable on Google.
Googlebot Desktop is one of two main types of web crawlers that Google uses to crawl and index websites. The other type is Googlebot Smartphone, which simulates a user on a mobile device. Google uses both types of crawlers to ensure that it has a complete and accurate understanding of your website, regardless of how users access it.
Why is Googlebot Desktop crawling your website?
Googlebot Desktop crawls your website for a few reasons:
- To discover new web pages and add them to Google’s index.
- To update the content of existing web pages in Google’s index.
- To identify any changes to your website’s structure or navigation.
- To identify any problems with your website, such as broken links or missing pages.
How can you help Googlebot Desktop crawl your website effectively?
There are a few things you can do to help Googlebot Desktop crawl your website effectively:
- Make sure that your website is accessible to Googlebot Desktop. You can do this by checking your robots.txt file and making sure that it does not block Googlebot Desktop from crawling your website.
- Make sure that your website is responsive, meaning that it looks good and functions well on all devices, including desktop computers and mobile devices. This will help Googlebot Desktop to understand your website more accurately.
- Create a sitemap for your website and submit it to Google Search Console. This will help Googlebot Desktop to discover all of the pages on your website and crawl them more efficiently.
- Avoid using techniques that could prevent Googlebot Desktop from crawling your website, such as cloaking or keyword stuffing.
What if you see a message in your website’s server logs that says “Crawled as: Googlebot desktop”?
If you see a message in your website’s server logs that says “Crawled as: Googlebot desktop,” it means that Googlebot Desktop has recently visited your website. This is a good thing, as it means that Google is aware of your website and is considering it for indexing.
However, if you see this message frequently and you are not happy with the way that Google is indexing your website, you can take steps to improve your website’s indexability. For example, you can create a sitemap, submit it to Google Search Console, and make sure that your website is accessible to Googlebot Desktop.
Additional tips for helping Googlebot Desktop crawl your website effectively:
- Use clear and descriptive titles and meta descriptions for your web pages.
- Use internal links to connect different pages on your website.
- Avoid using excessive JavaScript or other code that could make it difficult for Googlebot Desktop to render your pages.
- Keep your website up-to-date with fresh content.
By following these tips, you can help Googlebot Desktop crawl your website effectively and ensure that your website is indexed correctly on Google.
Googlebot is the generic name for Google’s two types of web crawlers: Googlebot Desktop: a desktop crawler that simulates a user on desktop. Googlebot Smartphone: a mobile crawler that simulates a user on a mobile device.
More about GoogleBot from Google Developers
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