Published on 2025-08-07T06:18:08Z

YandexBot

YandexBot is the primary web crawler for Yandex, Russia's largest search engine. It systematically scans the web to discover and index all types of public content to build Yandex's main search index. For any website owner targeting the Russian-speaking market, being crawled by YandexBot is essential for gaining visibility and organic search traffic.

What is YandexBot?

YandexBot is the official web crawler for the Yandex search engine. It is an automated bot that systematically browses the internet to discover, analyze, and index web content. It is actually a family of specialized crawlers, including versions for images, mobile, and other specific content types. The bot identifies itself in server logs with a user-agent string like Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexBot/3.0; +http://yandex.com/bots). It is the primary data collection mechanism for the Yandex search index.

Why is YandexBot crawling my site?

YandexBot is visiting your website to discover and index its content for inclusion in Yandex search results. It is looking for all types of content, including text, images, and videos. The frequency of visits is determined by factors like your site's popularity and content update schedule, and it is particularly interested in sites that are relevant to its primarily Russian-speaking user base. This crawling is a standard and authorized activity for a major search engine.

What is the purpose of YandexBot?

The purpose of YandexBot is to power the entire Yandex search ecosystem. The content it collects is used to build and maintain the Yandex search index, which allows users to find relevant information. For website owners, being crawled by YandexBot is beneficial as it makes your content discoverable by Yandex users, which can drive significant traffic, especially from businesses targeting Russian-speaking markets.

How do I block YandexBot?

To prevent YandexBot from accessing your website, you can add a disallow rule to your robots.txt file. This will prevent your pages from appearing in Yandex's search results. Note that the user-agent to block the main bot is often just 'Yandex'.

To block this bot, add the following lines to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: Yandex
Disallow: /

How to verify the authenticity of the user-agent operated by Yandex?

Reverse IP lookup technique

To verify user-agent authenticity, you can use host linux command two times with the IP address of the requester.
  1. > host IPAddressOfRequest
    This command returns the reverse lookup hostname (e.g., 4.4.8.8.in-addr.arpa.). 
  2. > host ReverseDNSFromTheOutputOfFirstRequest
If the output matches the original IP address and the domain is associated with a trusted operator (e.g., Yandex), the user-agent can be considered legitimate.

IP list lookup technique

Some operators provide a public list of IP addresses used by their crawlers. This list can be cross-referenced to verify a user-agent's authenticity. However, both operators and website owners may find it challenging to maintain an up-to-date list, so use this method with caution and in conjunction with other verification techniques.