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

YandexForDomain bot

The YandexForDomain bot is a task-specific bot from Yandex used exclusively for domain verification. It visits a site only when a user is attempting to prove ownership of that domain to set up a service like Yandex.Mail for Domains. It performs a brief, targeted check for a verification marker and is not a content indexer. Its activity has no impact on a site's SEO.

What is the YandexForDomain bot?

The YandexForDomain bot is a specialized web crawler from Yandex that focuses on domain verification for its email services, particularly Yandex.Mail for Domains. The bot identifies itself in server logs with the user-agent string Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexForDomain/1.0; +http://yandex.com/bots). Unlike Yandex's search crawlers, this bot has a narrow purpose and makes brief, targeted visits to a site rather than comprehensive scans.

Why is the YandexForDomain bot crawling my site?

The YandexForDomain bot is visiting your site because someone is attempting to verify ownership of your domain for use with Yandex's email services. The bot's visit is triggered when a user registers your domain with a Yandex service and needs to prove they own it. The bot looks for specific verification markers, such as a special HTML file on your server or a TXT record in your DNS settings. The visits are infrequent and occur primarily during the initial domain setup.

What is the purpose of the YandexForDomain bot?

The purpose of the YandexForDomain bot is to serve as the verification mechanism for Yandex's email services. It confirms domain ownership before a user is allowed to set up custom email addresses. This verification process protects domain owners from the unauthorized use of their domains for email. The bot's activity has no impact on your site's performance or search ranking; it is purely a verification tool.

How do I block the YandexForDomain bot?

To prevent the YandexForDomain bot from accessing your website, you can add a specific disallow rule to your robots.txt file. However, this will prevent you or anyone else from being able to verify your domain for use with Yandex's email services.

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

User-agent: YandexForDomain
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.