What is OnlineWebceoBot?

OnlineWebceoBot is a bot in the SEO crawlers category, operated by Online Webceo.

Bot name
OnlineWebceoBot
Operator
Online Webceo
Category
SEO Crawlers
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
online-webceo-bot
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About OnlineWebceoBot

A bot associated with WebCEO, a company that provides SEO tools and services

SEO crawlers map links, keywords and technical issues for SEO tools and backlink databases. They help the tool's customers, often your competitors, rather than you. Rate limit or block the ones you do not use.

OnlineWebceoBot user agent

OnlineWebceoBot identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; online-webceo-bot/1.0; +http://online.webceo.com)

Anyone can copy a user agent string. Transfon Security also checks where each request comes from, so a request that claims to be a known crawler but comes from the wrong network is treated as a fake, not as the real crawler.

How to block OnlineWebceoBot in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether OnlineWebceoBot follows robots.txt. Add a rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped. robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your domain, such as https://example.com/robots.txt.

Block OnlineWebceoBot from the whole site

User-agent: online-webceo-bot
Disallow: /

Block OnlineWebceoBot from some folders

User-agent: online-webceo-bot
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search

Allow OnlineWebceoBot only on some folders

User-agent: online-webceo-bot
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /

Allow OnlineWebceoBot and block other crawlers

User-agent: online-webceo-bot
Allow: /

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Things to know

  • Each host needs its own file. Rules on www.example.com do not apply to shop.example.com.
  • A crawler obeys only the most specific group that names it. Once you add a User-agent: online-webceo-bot group, OnlineWebceoBot ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take online-webceo-bot from OnlineWebceoBot's user agent; check Online Webceo's own documentation if it publishes a different robots.txt name.
  • Crawlers cache robots.txt, so changes can take up to a day to apply. Disallow stops crawling but does not remove pages already collected or indexed.

Limits of robots.txt

  1. OnlineWebceoBot may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that OnlineWebceoBot follows it. Check your logs after adding a rule.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send OnlineWebceoBot's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by Online Webceo's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real OnlineWebceoBot from a fake one.

Treat robots.txt as a statement of your policy, and enforce it where requests arrive.

Who should care about OnlineWebceoBot

Publishers

OnlineWebceoBot works for an SEO tool's customers, often your competitors. It adds server load without readers, so rate limit or block it unless you use the tool.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

SEO crawlers map landing pages and links for competitor research. Keep OnlineWebceoBot's visits out of campaign data.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

OnlineWebceoBot can map your catalogue, prices and site structure for competitors. Block it unless you use the tool yourself.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

Allow OnlineWebceoBot only if your team uses the tool; otherwise rate limit it on docs and marketing pages.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block OnlineWebceoBot with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows OnlineWebceoBot by name in the Top Bots report, so you can see how often it visits and which pages it reads. Block or allow it with a User Agent rule, or slow it down with a rate limit decision rule.

Transfon Security

Control OnlineWebceoBot on your site

  • See every OnlineWebceoBot visit and the pages it reads
  • Spot bots that fake trusted crawler names
  • Block, allow or rate limit OnlineWebceoBot with one rule
  • Works with or without robots.txt support

Frequently asked questions

What is OnlineWebceoBot?

OnlineWebceoBot is a bot in the SEO crawlers category, operated by Online Webceo. A bot associated with WebCEO, a company that provides SEO tools and services

Does OnlineWebceoBot respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether OnlineWebceoBot follows robots.txt. Add a robots.txt rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped, and block it by user agent if it did not.

How do I block OnlineWebceoBot?

Add "User-agent: online-webceo-bot" followed by "Disallow: /" to the robots.txt file at the root of your site. To enforce it, block requests whose user agent contains "online-webceo-bot" at your WAF. In Transfon Security that is one User Agent block rule.

Is robots.txt enough to block OnlineWebceoBot?

No. robots.txt is voluntary, so OnlineWebceoBot may not follow it, and anyone can send OnlineWebceoBot's user agent, so a fake OnlineWebceoBot ignores your rule. Enforce the rule where requests arrive, at your WAF, and check the source network.

Should I block OnlineWebceoBot?

SEO crawlers map links, keywords and technical issues for SEO tools and backlink databases. They help the tool's customers, often your competitors, rather than you. Rate limit or block the ones you do not use.

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