How to set a file accesible for search-bots not through Browser

File accesible for search-bots not through Browser

[milan oberoy]

Hello guys,

I have a file which i want to be accessible only for search-bots (such as googlebot and yahoo). same time no one else should be able to open through browsers.

Any idea how to get it done through htaccess?

[rainborick]

Serving content in this way is almost certainly a violation of the search engines' guidelines and will leave your site vulnerable to being penalized. The general principle is that you should serve the same content to users and search engines.

I'd suggest that you create a page that describes the file you want to control and include whatever link or form you require to allow users to access that file. That way the page can legally compete in the search results and you'll still be in control over access to the file itself. Good luck!

[g1smd]

You can do it by detecting the User Agent string, but you are playing with fire, as explained above.