What is SiteGuru?

SiteGuru is a bot in the SEO crawlers category, operated by SiteGuru.

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

About SiteGuru

SiteGuru is an SEO auditing tool that crawls

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.

SiteGuru user agent

SiteGuru identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • SiteGuruCrawler

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 SiteGuru in robots.txt

SiteGuru 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 SiteGuru from the whole site

User-agent: SiteGuruCrawler
Disallow: /

Block SiteGuru from some folders

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

Allow SiteGuru only on some folders

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

Allow SiteGuru and block other crawlers

User-agent: SiteGuruCrawler
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: SiteGuruCrawler group, SiteGuru ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take SiteGuruCrawler from SiteGuru's user agent; check SiteGuru'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. SiteGuru may not follow the rule. SiteGuru 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 SiteGuru use different names and rules.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send SiteGuru's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by SiteGuru's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real SiteGuru from a fake one.

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

Who should care about SiteGuru

Publishers

SiteGuru 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 SiteGuru's visits out of campaign data.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

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

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block SiteGuru with Transfon Security

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is SiteGuru?

SiteGuru is a bot in the SEO crawlers category, operated by SiteGuru. SiteGuru is an SEO auditing tool that crawls

Does SiteGuru respect robots.txt?

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

How do I block SiteGuru?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block SiteGuru?

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

Should I block SiteGuru?

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.

Related bots

All SEO crawlers · Full bot directory

See Which Bots Visit Your Site

Transfon Security identifies every bot in this directory in your traffic reports, flags fake search crawlers, and lets you allow, block or rate limit each bot.

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