Barkrowler bot

What is Barkrowler?

Barkrowler is a specialized web crawler operated by Babbar.tech, designed to systematically index web content for search engine optimization (SEO) analysis. Originally developed by eXenSa, Barkrowler was later acquired by Babbar, a company focused on SEO intelligence and link analysis. The crawler identifies itself in server logs with user agent strings such as Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Barkrowler/0.9; +https://babbar.tech/crawler) or the simpler version Barkrowler/0.9 (+https://babbar.tech/crawler).

As a lightweight crawler, Barkrowler focuses primarily on building link graphs and analyzing page metadata rather than rendering or processing dynamic content. It doesn't support JavaScript execution, doesn't use cookies, and doesn't maintain sessions. This design makes it efficient for large-scale crawling while minimizing server impact. Barkrowler operates with built-in politeness protocols, including respect for robots.txt directives and implementation of crawl delays to reduce server load.

Why is Barkrowler crawling my site?

Barkrowler visits websites to collect data for Babbar's SEO analysis tools. It's particularly interested in your site's link structure, including both internal and external links that help determine your site's position in the broader web ecosystem. The crawler is looking for metadata, page structure, and connection patterns that reveal how your content relates to other sites.

The frequency of Barkrowler's visits depends on your site's size, authority, and update frequency. Higher-traffic sites with frequent content updates may see more regular crawling activity. Babbar configures Barkrowler to implement delays between requests (typically 2.5-5 seconds) to minimize impact on your servers.

Barkrowler's crawling is generally considered authorized as it follows standard web crawling protocols and respects access controls. Its purpose is analytical rather than content reproduction.

What is the purpose of Barkrowler?

Barkrowler serves as the data collection engine for Babbar's SEO intelligence platform. The data it gathers helps build comprehensive link graphs that reveal how websites connect to each other across the internet. This information powers Babbar's SEO analysis tools, which help website owners and marketers understand their site's visibility, authority, and competitive positioning.

For website owners, Barkrowler's activities can provide indirect benefits through improved SEO insights available through Babbar's services. The crawler helps identify linking patterns, domain authority metrics, and content relationships that can inform content and linking strategies. However, unlike search engine crawlers like Googlebot, Barkrowler doesn't directly influence your site's visibility in mainstream search results.

How do I block Barkrowler?

Barkrowler respects the robots.txt protocol, making it straightforward to control its access to your site. To completely block Barkrowler from crawling your entire site, add the following to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: Barkrowler
Disallow: /

If you only want to prevent Barkrowler from accessing certain sections of your site, you can specify particular directories:

User-agent: Barkrowler
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /members/
Disallow: /admin/

You can also slow down Barkrowler's crawling rate by using the Crawl-Delay directive, which Babbar's documentation confirms they honor:

User-agent: Barkrowler
Crawl-Delay: 10

This example would instruct Barkrowler to wait 10 seconds between requests.

Blocking Barkrowler has minimal consequences for most websites, as it doesn't directly affect your visibility in major search engines. However, you would lose potential insights about your site's link profile that might be available through Babbar's SEO tools. If you're experiencing server load issues rather than wanting to block the crawler entirely, using the Crawl-Delay directive offers a balanced approach that allows data collection while reducing resource impact.