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apache.htaccessgooglebot

Verifying Googlebot in .htaccess file

I have been investigate a bit. Will code below work? Not so easy to check. 

RewriteEngine on
HostnameLookups Double  
RewriteCond %{REMOTE_HOST} (\.googlebot\.com) [NC] 
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /do-something [L,R]

I worry the most for part 

HostnameLookups Double

It says in some place that works only in httpd.confg, vps, directory(not shure what this last means if not .htaccess but not saying in htaccess). Do you have knowledge about this issue?

Solution

  • You can use a condition with %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} variable:

    RewriteEngine on

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^googlebot
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /do-something [L,R]

    Though keep in mind that %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} can be spoofed.