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Admin Tools

#36445 Will Admin Tools Pro block Google Bots?

Posted in ‘Admin Tools for Joomla! 4 & 5’
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Environment Information

Joomla! version
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PHP version
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Admin Tools version
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Latest post by on Wednesday, 16 February 2022 20:17 CST

5uwebsite

Hi there,

 

Just deployed Admin Tools Pro for a website. We then had a few Google Ads (that had been runing for a few years) disapproved, because the destination URL is not working. This could happen if the bots of Google could not craw the data of our web pages. 

May I ask whether their bots could be blocked by the WAF or other advanced security features? Will the block also cause the search engine bots to get 404 error and impact search rankings?

 

We got many 404 shield and other types of security-related emails from Admin Tools, and this is why I think it could be the issue.

 

As I am getting too many emails, is there a way to change the send-to email to another email address? Or does it has to be the same email of the super user? May I also change the frequency of email sent?

 

Thanks

nicholas
Akeeba Staff
Manager

The default configuration is to never block the IP address of GoogleBot. However, if that URL results in a 403 from Admin Tools for any reason that's what GoogleBot will see; they will just be allowed to retry without having their IP blocked.

So, first step is to try the URL you are using in a new Private Browsing window to make sure it works right.

Important: The URL must work without any redirections. If you enter http://example.com/foobar and by the time the page displays the URL has changed to https://www.example.com/something_else you actually need to use the latter URL. Same goes if only http vs https changed or if non-www domain to www domain (or vice versa) has changed.

If this doesn't helper, the other thing you should note is that you may be using the .htaccess Maker to block some user agents. If this is the case try disabling that option, click on Save & Close and retry. I don't know which user agent is used by AdWords; I have not used AdWords in about 10 years.

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As I am getting too many emails, is there a way to change the send-to email to another email address? Or does it has to be the same email of the super user? May I also change the frequency of email sent?

The email address must belong to a Super User. You can, however, disable specific reasons (or the entire email on security exception feature) from the Web Application Firewall, logging and reporting tab. I generally advise disabling this feature. You can always see the blocked requests in Admin Tools, Web Application Firewall, Blocked Requests Log. You don't need the emails. The emails are there for the minority of people who don't believe Admin Tools is working unless they receive an email.

 

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

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