Avivadirectory.com - Be The Bot

Aviva Directory is hosting a new application, named “Be the Bot” that enables users to search like Google does. This means that any block of text that shows up as a relevant search result can be accessed, even if you normally can’t see the material when clicking through on the search page. Be the Bot achieves this by mimicking Google’s header, basically a name badge telling a page who you are. Google’s header is “GoogleBot,” and this identification grants special access to the search engine to maximize search results. Be the Bot connects to your specified website within its home page, using the GoogleBot header, to show you all the information you want to see.

“Now, all we have to do is trick the site's headers, into thinking that we ARE google. That's what this site does.”

Be the Bot puts an end to those irritating searches where information is so close at hand but not accessible.

How often will Be the Bot be useful? As I was trying to search for examples to test, everything failed or was irrelevant. Subscription articles from The Wall Street Journal or The Economist apparently don’t give access to the GoogleBot header (and do not show up in search results), and other registration-required sites, like The Washington Post, skip the need for registration when clicking through from Google. While Be the Bot is useful is certain contexts, those contexts seem few and far between.