Importance of Web Crawling Software for Webmasters

There are many tools in a Webmaster’s tool belt, but web crawling software may be one of the most useful among the bunch. When this software is used properly, it can increase a website’s effectiveness and save a Webmaster lots of time. Web crawling software automates the process of going through your client’s website pages manually and essentially crawls every nook and cranny to give you an in-depth analysis of how your website is performing. In the following blog, we’ll cover topics such as response codes, finding forms, and identifying alt text.

Response Codes

There are many HTTP Status Codes (response codes); one of the most dreaded is the 404 response code. These codes can contribute to users immediately exiting a page, which can be a factor for a website having a high bounce rate. Identifying these errors can be difficult, as it involves going page by page to ensure that every link results in a success. Website crawling software can quickly uncover any URLs or images that result in a 404, while pinpointing the exact source of the error. From there, all one has to do is check each link and decide how to best redirect incorrect links, so no matter what page a user finds, it has the relevant content they are looking for.

Finding Forms

One of the main functions of a Webmaster is to verify that forms are being properly identified and tracked. Large websites can have many types of forms and they can be surprisingly easy to miss. With a few crawling software commands, your software will begin identifying each form on your clients website. This helps you more efficiently scan the website and ensure that no forms are being missed. Businesses put in hard work to get users to the point of filling out a form and it’s crucial that leads are being tracked correctly and that every form is checked.

Checking Images for Alt Text

Alt text helps visually impaired consumers understand any images that are on the page they are looking at. Alt text can often be missed and it is important that any user who comes in contact with the page be able to understand the page completely. Web crawling software is an extremely reliable way to ensure that alt text is not missing from an image. Adjusting a few settings on your web crawling software can start a website crawl to make sure that each image on every page has alt text and reports to you if any image is missing alt text.

To learn more about how Webmasters use web crawling software to help optimize clients’ websites, please contact Aronson Advertising by calling (847) 297-1700.