Mail.RU_Bot

What is Mail.RU_Bot?

Mail.RU_Bot is the web crawler operated by VK Group (formerly Mail.ru Group), one of Russia's largest internet companies. The bot serves as the indexing engine for Mail.ru's search services, methodically scanning and cataloging web content to power their search engine. First deployed around 2009, this search engine crawler systematically visits websites to discover, analyze, and index content for inclusion in Mail.ru's search results.

The bot identifies itself in server logs through several user-agent strings, with the most common being Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Mail.RU_Bot/2.0; +http://go.mail.ru/help/robots) or newer variants like Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Linux x86_64; Mail.RU_Bot/2.0; +https://help.mail.ru/webmaster/indexing/robots). There are also specialized versions like Mail.RU_Bot/Img/2.0 for image indexing and Mail.RU_Bot/Fast/2.0 for quick crawling operations.

Mail.RU_Bot operates by following links across the web, downloading page content, and analyzing text, images, and other elements to determine relevance and quality for search results. The bot is designed to respect standard crawling protocols and typically adheres to robots.txt directives, making it a well-behaved crawler in the search engine ecosystem.

Why is Mail.RU_Bot crawling my site?

Mail.RU_Bot visits websites primarily to discover and index content for Mail.ru's search engine. The bot is particularly interested in text content, images, links, and metadata that help determine the relevance and authority of your pages for Russian-language users.

The frequency of visits depends on several factors, including your site's popularity, how often your content changes, and its relevance to Mail.ru's predominantly Russian-speaking audience. High-traffic sites with frequently updated content may see the bot multiple times daily, while less active sites might receive visits weekly or monthly.

Crawling is typically triggered by new content discovery, updates to existing pages, or periodic refreshes of previously indexed content. The bot may also follow links from other sites that point to your content, especially if those links are new or have gained prominence.

This crawling activity is considered authorized as part of the standard operation of search engines, provided you haven't specifically blocked it through robots.txt or other methods.

What is the purpose of Mail.RU_Bot?

Mail.RU_Bot's primary purpose is to gather web content to power Mail.ru's search engine, which serves millions of users primarily in Russia and other Russian-speaking regions. The bot collects and processes information about websites, creating a searchable index that allows users to find relevant content based on their queries.

The data collected by Mail.RU_Bot is used to rank search results, provide snippets and previews, and enhance the overall search experience for Mail.ru users. This includes analyzing page content, structure, links, and various quality signals to determine the most relevant results for specific search terms.

For website owners, being indexed by Mail.RU_Bot can provide value through increased visibility to Russian-speaking audiences. This can translate to more traffic, especially for sites with content relevant to these users or businesses targeting the Russian market.

How do I block Mail.RU_Bot?

Mail.RU_Bot respects the robots.txt standard, making it relatively straightforward to control its access to your site. To block the bot completely, add the following directives to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: Mail.RU_Bot
Disallow: /

If you want to block only specific sections of your site while allowing the bot to index other areas, you can use more targeted directives:

User-agent: Mail.RU_Bot
Disallow: /private-directory/
Disallow: /members-only/
Allow: /

For blocking specific variants of the bot, you might need to include additional user-agent lines:

User-agent: Mail.RU_Bot
User-agent: Mail.RU_Bot/Fast/2.0
User-agent: Mail.RU_Bot/Img/2.0
Disallow: /

Keep in mind that blocking Mail.RU_Bot will reduce your visibility in Mail.ru search results, potentially decreasing traffic from Russian-speaking users. This might be acceptable if Russia isn't a target market for your site, but could impact reach if you're trying to attract a global audience. For most legitimate websites, allowing controlled access through selective robots.txt directives provides the best balance between privacy and discoverability.