Google Crawlers Send HTTP Requests: HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE

08/07/26
Source: Search Engine Roundtable by barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz). Read the original article

TL;DR

Google’s crawlers send HTTP requests beyond the typical GET and POST, including HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE, though these account for less than 1.5% of total requests. Gary Illyes from Google clarified that these requests are primarily initiated by JavaScript during rendering processes.

Key Developments

  • Google’s crawlers send HTTP requests such as HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE.
  • These requests make up less than 1.5% of all requests from Google’s crawlers.
  • The additional HTTP requests are primarily triggered by JavaScript during rendering.

Optimixed Analysis

The revelation that Google’s crawlers use a wider range of HTTP requests than previously emphasized suggests a nuanced approach to handling JavaScript. This could indicate that Google is refining its crawling and rendering processes to better understand and index JavaScript-heavy sites. However, the low percentage of these requests implies limited impact on overall crawling behavior. Professionals should consider the potential implications for sites heavily reliant on JavaScript, as these requests might affect how content is indexed.