If your website doesn't feature a large volume of frequently updated pages, or if your pages are typically crawled on the same day they're published, you may not need this guide. In such cases, simply keeping your sitemap updated and routinely reviewing your index coverage should suffice.
However, if you have content that's been online for some time but hasn’t been indexed, that's a separate issue and you may need to review the crawling process.
Generally, properly managing your crawl budget becomes essential in the following scenarios:
Large websites (over 1 million unique pages) with content that updates at least weekly
Medium or larger sites (more than 10,000 unique pages) with content that changes frequently, often on a daily basis
Sites where a significant number of URLs are marked as "Discovered - currently not indexed" in Search Console
What is Crawl budget
Crawl Budget can be defined as: The time and resources that Google allocates to crawling a website. It is very important to notice that not every page crawled on your site will ultimately be indexed—each page is individually evaluated and processed to decide if it should be added to the index.
Crawl Capacity Limit & Crawl Demand
A site's crawl budget is influenced by two key factors: crawl capacity limit and crawl demand
Crawl Capacity Limit
Googlebot’s goal is to crawl your site efficiently without putting excessive strain on your servers. To manage this, it establishes a crawl capacity limit—the maximum number of simultaneous connections and the delay between requests—allowing it to cover all important content without overloading your server.
Crawl capacity limit can vary based on:
Crawl health: If your site consistently responds quickly, the limit increases, enabling more connections. If your site slows down or shows server errors, the limit decreases to reduce crawl frequency.
Google's resource allocation: While Google has significant resources, they are not unlimited, so Googlebot must balance its resources across numerous sites.
Crawl Demand
Google generally spends as much time as needed to crawl a site, factoring in its size, update frequency, content quality, and relevance relative to other sites.
Key factors that influence crawl demand include:
Perceived inventory: Googlebot attempts to crawl most URLs it knows about. If many of these URLs are duplicates or irrelevant (e.g., removed or unimportant), it can waste valuable crawl time. This is the factor you can control most directly by managing your URL inventory.
Popularity: URLs with higher popularity tend to be crawled more frequently to keep them updated in Google’s index.
Additionally, site-wide changes, like moving to new URLs, may increase crawl demand to reindex content at the updated locations.
What can cause wasting crawl budget
Duplicate Content:
Googlebot spends time crawling multiple versions of the same content. This can dilute the authority of your website and hinder the indexing of unique content.
Poor Internal Linking Structure
A disorganized or inefficient internal linking structure can make it difficult for Googlebot to discover important pages. This can lead to underutilized crawl budget and missed opportunities for indexing valuable content.
Excessive Redirects
Redirect chains consume crawl budget as Googlebot follows each redirect to reach the final destination. This can slow down the crawling process and prevent Googlebot from efficiently exploring your website.
Slow Page Load Times
Slow-loading pages consume more crawl budget as Googlebot spends more time waiting for pages to load. This can limit the number of pages Googlebot can crawl within a given time frame.
Technical SEO Issues
Issues like broken links, server errors, and poor mobile optimization can hinder Googlebot's ability to crawl your website efficiently. This can lead to wasted crawl budget and missed indexing opportunities.
Inefficient Use of Robots.txt
Overly restrictive robots.txt files can prevent Googlebot from accessing important pages. This can lead to underutilized crawl budget and missed opportunities for indexing valuable content.
Excessive Thin Content
Low-quality, thin content can waste crawl budget without providing significant value to users or search engines. This can dilute the authority of your website and hinder the indexing of high-quality content.
How to monitor your site’s crawling issues
1- Check if Googlebot encounters availability issues on your site
How to check
Review the Crawl Stats report to see Googlebot’s crawl history, including any availability issues. If errors appear, look at the Host availability graph for instances where requests exceeded the red limit line, then check which URLs failed.
Use the URL Inspection Tool to test specific URLs. If you see "Hostload exceeded" warnings, Googlebot cannot crawl as many URLs as it discovered.
2- Check if any areas of your site are not being crawled but should be
Google will spend as much time as needed to index all valuable, high-quality content on your site. If you believe important pages are being missed, it may be due to Googlebot not being aware of them, restrictions blocking access, or limited site availability that throttles Google’s crawl rate.
How to check
Use the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console to test specific URLs and see if they’re accessible to Googlebot.
Examine your site logs to confirm that Googlebot has accessed critical areas of your site.
Ensure no pages are unintentionally blocked by robots.txt (Check out Robots.txt best practices) or noindex tags.
3- Ensure updates on your site are crawled promptly by helping Google detect new or changed pages
While Google generally indexes updates within three days, only highly time-sensitive sites, like news sites, may see same-day indexing.
How to check
Check your site logs to see when Googlebot last crawled specific URLs.
Use the URL Inspection tool or search for updated URLs on Google to determine the most recent indexing date.
Crawl Budget management best practices
1-Strategic URL Management:
Prioritize Crawling: Employ appropriate tools (e.g., XML sitemaps, request indexing in URL inspection tool) to guide Googlebot toward your most valuable content. This helps allocate crawling resources efficiently.
Avoid Overburdening Googlebot: Excessive crawling of low-value URLs can hinder the indexing of your core content. Prioritize essential pages and limit access to non-indexable content.
2- Consolidate Duplicate Content
Identify and merge duplicate content to streamline your website's structure and focus crawling efforts on unique, valuable pages.
Use duplication management best practices like using canonicals, 301 redirects, etc.
3- Effective Use of Robots.txt
Use robots.txt to prevent Googlebot from accessing pages that are not intended for search engine indexing. This includes:
Infinite scrolling pages that duplicate content / paginated pages
Differently sorted versions of the same page
Low-value or temporary content
4- Error Handling and Redirects
Communicate clear 404 or 410 Status Codes. For permanently removed pages, return a definitive 410 status code to signal Google to remove the URL from its index.
Identify and rectify soft 404 errors, which can waste crawling budget and hinder indexing.
Minimize Redirect Chains keeping them as short as possible to improve page load times and efficient crawling.
5-Sitemap Management
Keep Sitemaps Updated: Regularly update your sitemap to reflect the latest content and ensure Googlebot prioritizes important pages.
Utilize the <lastmod> Tag to specify the required crawl frequency. For dynamic content, use the <lastmod> tag to inform Google of the last modification date, aiding in fresh content discovery.
6-Technical aspects
Page Load Optimization: Improve page load speed to enhance user experience and allow Googlebot to crawl more pages efficiently.
Monitor Crawl Efficiency: Use tools to track crawling activity, identify issues, and optimize your website's accessibility for Googlebot.
By implementing the aforementioned strategies, you can effectively manage your crawl budget and prioritize the crawling of your most valuable content, which in turns contribute to a healthier and more efficient crawling process. By adhering to these best practices, you can empower your website to achieve optimal search engine rankings and deliver exceptional user experiences.
Comments