What is the difference between crawling and indexing?
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Correct answer: Crawling is when search engine bots scan websites and follow links, while indexing is when search engines store that information in their database.
Why this is the answer
Crawling is the discovery phase where search engine bots (crawlers or spiders) systematically browse the internet, following links from page to page to find new and updated content. Indexing is the processing and storage phase where the information gathered during crawling is analyzed, understood, and then added to a search engine's massive database (the index). This index is what the search engine consults when a user performs a search query. The other options are incorrect because crawling and indexing are distinct, sequential processes; crawling precedes indexing, and both are performed by search engines, not users.
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