Spider

Spider, also known as a crawler or bot, is an automated software used by search engines to explore and index web pages.

It works by following links on web pages, gathering data and information about the content of those pages, which are then used to enrich and update the search engine index, the database used to provide search results to users.

Spiders are critical to the operation of search engines because they allow them to discover new pages and update known pages based on changes or new content.

The term comes from the metaphor of a spider spinning its web: in the context of the online Web, the “web” represents the network of pages and links that make up the Internet. Just as a spider moves through its web to catch insects, a digital spider moves through the web of Web pages, following links from one page to another. This process allows the spider to “capture” information about web pages, such as content, links, and metadata, which is then used to build and update the search engine index.