What is ZoomInfo?

ZoomInfo is a bot in the search engine crawlers category, operated by ZoomInfo.

Bot name
ZoomInfo
Operator
ZoomInfo
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
ZoominfoBot
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About ZoomInfo

Zoominfobot is an indexing robot for a web search engine, similar to Google. Created by Zoom Information Inc.(www.zoominfo.com), Zoominfobot’s patented technology continually scans millions of corporate websites, press releases, electronic news services, SEC filings and other online sources. Using advanced natural language processing algorithms, ZoomInfo has created a next generation search engine focused on finding pages with information about businesses and business professionals.

Search engine crawlers index your pages so they can appear in search results. Keep the genuine ones allowed and verify them, because fake search crawlers are one of the most common disguises for scrapers.

ZoomInfo user agent

ZoomInfo identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • ZoominfoBot (zoominfobot at zoominfo dot 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 ZoomInfo in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether ZoomInfo 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 ZoomInfo from the whole site

User-agent: ZoominfoBot
Disallow: /

Block ZoomInfo from some folders

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

Allow ZoomInfo only on some folders

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

Allow ZoomInfo and block other crawlers

User-agent: ZoominfoBot
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: ZoominfoBot group, ZoomInfo ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take ZoominfoBot from ZoomInfo's user agent; check ZoomInfo'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. ZoomInfo may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that ZoomInfo 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 ZoomInfo's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by ZoomInfo's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real ZoomInfo from a fake one.

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

Who should care about ZoomInfo

Publishers

ZoomInfo brings search traffic, so keep the real one allowed. Fake ZoomInfo requests are a common cover for scrapers, so verify it by network rather than by name.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

Search crawlers fetch landing pages to check them. Keep ZoomInfo allowed, but out of campaign and conversion data.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

ZoomInfo indexes products for search results. Allow it, and block impersonators that use its name to scrape prices.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

Allow ZoomInfo on marketing and docs pages, and keep it off signed-in app pages it cannot use.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block ZoomInfo with Transfon Security

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is ZoomInfo?

ZoomInfo is a bot in the search engine crawlers category, operated by ZoomInfo. Zoominfobot is an indexing robot for a web search engine, similar to Google. Created by Zoom Information Inc.(www.zoominfo.com), Zoominfobot’s patented technology continually scans millions of corporate websites, press releases, electronic news services, SEC filings and other online sources. Using advanced natural language processing algorithms, ZoomInfo has created a next generation search engine focused on finding pages with information about businesses and business professionals.

Does ZoomInfo respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether ZoomInfo 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 ZoomInfo?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block ZoomInfo?

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

Should I block ZoomInfo?

Search engine crawlers index your pages so they can appear in search results. Keep the genuine ones allowed and verify them, because fake search crawlers are one of the most common disguises for scrapers.

Related bots

All search engine 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.

Stay ahead of the publishing curve

Privacy, security, monetization, and performance insights. A few emails a month, no spam.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy.