Google Crawlers Use More HTTP Methods Than You Think

Google’s crawlers can send more than the commonly known GET and POST requests.

As per Google’s Gary Illyes, crawlers also send HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE requests. However, these less common request types make up less than 1.5% of all requests sent by Google’s crawlers.

He shared the clarification after receiving several questions about whether Googlebot and other Google crawlers use HTTP methods beyond GET and POST.

The reason appears to be related to JavaScript. Illyes explained that some JavaScript on a webpage can trigger these requests while Google processes and renders the page.

This means website owners should not assume that Google will only access their sites using GET requests. During rendering, JavaScript can cause additional types of HTTP requests to be made.

For most websites, the small share of these requests means there is no immediate reason for concern. However, developers and SEO teams should understand how their JavaScript interacts with different HTTP methods, especially when those requests affect important content or site functionality.

The update is also a useful reminder that crawling and rendering process can involve more than simply fetching a page’s HTML. JavaScript execution can lead to additional network activity that may influence how Google processes a page. To stay updated, get in touch with Vybepop Media.