What is SERankingBacklinksBot?

SERankingBacklinksBot is a bot in the SEO crawlers category, operated by SE Ranking.

Bot name
SERankingBacklinksBot
Operator
SE Ranking
Category
SEO Crawlers
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Yes
robots.txt user agent
SERankingBacklinksBot
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About SERankingBacklinksBot

Crawls the Internet to assist in getting information on the link structure of sites on the web to assist SEO specialists

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.

SERankingBacklinksBot user agent

SERankingBacklinksBot identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; SERankingBacklinksBot/1.0; +https://seranking.com/backlinks-crawler)

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 SERankingBacklinksBot in robots.txt

SERankingBacklinksBot follows robots.txt, so these rules stop it crawling the paths you choose. robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your domain, such as https://example.com/robots.txt.

Block SERankingBacklinksBot from the whole site

User-agent: SERankingBacklinksBot
Disallow: /

Block SERankingBacklinksBot from some folders

User-agent: SERankingBacklinksBot
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search

Allow SERankingBacklinksBot only on some folders

User-agent: SERankingBacklinksBot
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /

Allow SERankingBacklinksBot and block other crawlers

User-agent: SERankingBacklinksBot
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: SERankingBacklinksBot group, SERankingBacklinksBot ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take SERankingBacklinksBot from SERankingBacklinksBot's user agent; check SE Ranking'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. SERankingBacklinksBot may not follow the rule. SERankingBacklinksBot says it follows robots.txt, but nothing enforces that. Changes can take a day to apply, the operator can change its policy, and other crawlers from SE Ranking use different names and rules.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send SERankingBacklinksBot's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by SE Ranking's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real SERankingBacklinksBot from a fake one.

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

Who should care about SERankingBacklinksBot

Publishers

SERankingBacklinksBot 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 SERankingBacklinksBot's visits out of campaign data.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

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

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block SERankingBacklinksBot with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows SERankingBacklinksBot 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 SERankingBacklinksBot on your site

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

Frequently asked questions

What is SERankingBacklinksBot?

SERankingBacklinksBot is a bot in the SEO crawlers category, operated by SE Ranking. Crawls the Internet to assist in getting information on the link structure of sites on the web to assist SEO specialists

Does SERankingBacklinksBot respect robots.txt?

Yes. SERankingBacklinksBot follows robots.txt, so a Disallow rule for the SERankingBacklinksBot user agent stops it from crawling the paths you list.

How do I block SERankingBacklinksBot?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block SERankingBacklinksBot?

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

Should I block SERankingBacklinksBot?

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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