Published on 2025-08-07T06:18:08Z
SemrushBot-SWA
SemrushBot-SWA is a specialized web crawler from the SEO platform Semrush. The 'SWA' stands for 'SEO Writing Assistant,' and the bot's purpose is to collect data that powers this content optimization tool. It analyzes the content structure, keyword usage, and readability of high-performing pages to provide Semrush users with real-time recommendations for improving their own writing.
What is SemrushBot-SWA?
SemrushBot-SWA is a web crawler from Semrush, with 'SWA' standing for SEO Writing Assistant, one of the platform's content optimization tools. The bot's function is to collect data that powers this tool's recommendations. It identifies itself in server logs with the user-agent string SemrushBot-SWA
. Unlike general crawlers, it focuses specifically on textual content analysis to support the SEO Writing Assistant. It is a well-behaved bot that respects robots.txt
directives and uses conservative request rates.
Why is SemrushBot-SWA crawling my site?
SemrushBot-SWA is visiting your website to collect data for its content optimization tools. It is likely analyzing your site's content to include it in its comparative database, which allows Semrush users to benchmark their own content against top-performing pages in their industry. The crawler focuses on text-heavy pages that rank well for specific keywords. The crawling is considered an authorized activity as part of a legitimate SEO service.
What is the purpose of SemrushBot-SWA?
The purpose of SemrushBot-SWA is to gather data for the Semrush SEO Writing Assistant. The information it collects about content structure, keyword usage, and readability enables Semrush to provide real-time optimization recommendations to its users. For website owners, this can be indirectly valuable, as it increases your content's visibility to Semrush users who may be creating content in your industry. If your content serves as a benchmark for quality, it may lead to increased authority and backlink opportunities.
How do I block SemrushBot-SWA?
To prevent SemrushBot-SWA from analyzing your site's content, you can add a disallow rule to your robots.txt
file. This is the standard method for managing access for SEO crawlers.
To block this bot, add the following lines to your robots.txt
file:
User-agent: SemrushBot-SWA
Disallow: /
How to verify the authenticity of the user-agent operated by Semrush?
Reverse IP lookup technique
host
linux command two times with the IP address of the requester.-
This command returns the reverse lookup hostname (e.g., 4.4.8.8.in-addr.arpa.).> host IPAddressOfRequest
-
> host ReverseDNSFromTheOutputOfFirstRequest