What is YandexOntoDBAPI?

YandexOntoDBAPI is a specialized web crawler developed and operated by Yandex, a major Russian technology company and search engine. It functions as part of Yandex's broader ecosystem of automated tools designed for data acquisition and indexing. This bot is specifically focused on structured data extraction and ontology processing, which helps Yandex build and maintain its knowledge graph.

The crawler identifies itself in server logs with the user-agent string Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YandexOntoDBAPI/1.0; +http://yandex.com/bots), following standard conventions for web crawler identification. You can find more information about Yandex's crawlers at their official bot documentation page.

YandexOntoDBAPI is distinguished by its high request frequency (capable of 20-30 requests per second during peak activity) and its focus on pages containing structured data markup and API endpoints. It maintains extended connections through HTTP keep-alive techniques and demonstrates particular interest in semantic web technologies like RDF, OWL schemas, and Schema.org implementations.

Why is YandexOntoDBAPI crawling my site?

YandexOntoDBAPI is likely visiting your site to extract structured data that can enhance Yandex's knowledge graph and search capabilities. If your website contains rich structured data (like JSON-LD, Microdata, or RDFa markup), ontology information, or semantic web elements, you're more likely to receive visits from this crawler.

The bot prioritizes content with clear entity relationships and structured formats that can be integrated into Yandex's knowledge systems. Its crawling frequency depends on several factors, including your site's authority, content freshness, and the presence of valuable structured data. Sites with frequently updated structured information may experience more regular visits.

YandexOntoDBAPI's crawling is generally considered authorized as part of normal search engine operations, though its high request rate may cause concern for some website operators.

What is the purpose of YandexOntoDBAPI?

YandexOntoDBAPI serves to build and enhance Yandex's knowledge graph by extracting and processing structured data from websites. This specialized crawler supports Yandex's search engine and other services by gathering information that can be used to improve search results, power rich snippets, and enhance the accuracy of answers provided to users.

The "Onto" in its name refers to ontologies—formal representations of knowledge domains that enable machines to interpret relationships between entities. The "DB" likely refers to database integration, while "API" suggests it's designed for automated data retrieval and machine-to-machine communication.

For website owners, this crawler can potentially increase your content's visibility in Yandex's search results, especially for queries requiring specific factual information. Properly structured data may help your content appear in enhanced search features like rich snippets, knowledge panels, or direct answers.

How do I block YandexOntoDBAPI?

If you need to control YandexOntoDBAPI's access to your site, you can use the robots.txt file, as this crawler generally respects standard crawling directives. To block it completely from your site, add the following to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: YandexOntoDBAPI
Disallow: /

To block access to specific directories or files, use more targeted directives:

User-agent: YandexOntoDBAPI
Disallow: /private-data/
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /sensitive-content.html

You can also implement rate limiting at the server level if you're concerned about the crawler's impact on your server resources. This can be done through your web server configuration (like Nginx or Apache) or through your content management system if it offers such capabilities.

Keep in mind that blocking this crawler may reduce your site's visibility in Yandex search results, particularly for queries that rely on structured data. If you operate in regions where Yandex has significant market share (such as Russia and parts of Eastern Europe), blocking may impact your search visibility more substantially. Consider using targeted blocking for sensitive areas rather than site-wide restrictions if possible.

YandexOntoDBAPI