Crawler

What is a crawler and what is it used for?

A crawler, also known as a spider or bot, is an automated program used primarily by search engines to systematically crawl the Internet and index information from websites.

By crawling the website structure, capturing relevant content and following links between pages, crawlers help create a comprehensive database that search engines use to deliver fast and relevant search results.

Main features

• Automation: Crawlers perform their tasks fully automatically, without human intervention.
• Data extraction: They extract data from websites, including text, images and links.
• Link tracking: Crawlers follow the links on the pages they visit to discover new pages and gather information about the network of websites.

Advantages of a crawler

• Updating databases: Crawlers are crucial for search engines to keep their indexes up to date and ensure that users find the latest information.
• Content discovery: They help to quickly identify new and changed content, which is essential for the dynamic nature of the internet.
• SEO optimization: Web developers use the behavior of crawlers to better optimize their pages for search engines and thus improve the visibility of their content.

Use of crawlers by CCM19 for data protection checks

Checking third-party services: CCM19 uses crawlers to automatically check whether services are integrated on a website that set cookies and possibly transmit data to third parties. This helps to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by ensuring that all external content is handled in accordance with legal requirements.

Challenges of crawlers

• Server load: Uncontrolled crawling can place a significant load on web servers, sometimes resulting in performance delays or outages.
• Privacy: The automatic collection of information can raise privacy concerns, especially when personal data is collected without consent.
• Access management: Website operators often need to ensure that crawlers only index accessible and relevant areas of their websites.

Areas of application for crawlers

• Search engines: Google, Bing and other search engines use crawlers to create and update their search indexes.
• Marketing and research: Companies use special crawlers to collect market data or analyze the web presence of competitors.
• Archiving: Some organizations, such as internet archives, use crawlers to store historical copies of websites.