Google has shared new guidance on crawl budget optimization to help website owners improve how search engines discover and index their content. Crawl budget refers to the number of pages Googlebot can and wants to crawl on a site during each visit. Sites with many pages or slow loading times may face challenges in getting all their content indexed efficiently.
(Google’s Crawl Budget: Optimization Strategies)
The company explains that not every site needs to worry about crawl budget. Smaller sites with fewer than a few thousand pages usually do not face issues. However, larger sites or those with complex structures should pay attention. Google recommends keeping server response times fast. Slow servers can reduce the number of pages crawled in one session.
Duplicate content is another factor that affects crawl budget. Google advises using canonical tags to point to the preferred version of a page. This helps avoid wasting crawl resources on identical or near-identical pages. Also, unnecessary URL parameters should be minimized or blocked via robots.txt.
Website owners should review their sitemaps regularly. Only important pages should be included. Low-value pages like tag archives or thin content can consume crawl budget without adding real value. Internal linking matters too. Pages that are linked more often tend to get crawled more frequently.
Google also suggests monitoring crawl stats in Search Console. This tool shows how often and how many pages Googlebot visits. Sudden drops or spikes may signal technical problems. Fixing broken links and redirect chains can help keep crawling smooth.
(Google’s Crawl Budget: Optimization Strategies)
Keeping a clean site structure makes it easier for Googlebot to find useful content. Avoiding excessive faceted navigation and session IDs also supports better crawl efficiency. These steps help ensure that Google spends its crawl budget on pages that matter most.
