Googlebot IP Address List (How to Find, Verify, and Understand Googlebot IPs)
Website owners, SEOs, and developers are often curious about the Googlebot IP address in order to be able to distinguish genuine Googlebots and protect their website. People tend to look for phrases such as “googlebot ip” “googlebot ips” “googlebot ip ranges” or even “what is google ip address?”
What Is Googlebot?
Googlebot is Google’s web crawler bot. Googlebot crawls websites to find new pages and changed content. After crawling, Google indexes pages and displays them in search engine results pages.
There are various types of Google bots, such as:
• Googlebot (Search crawler)
• Googlebot-Image
• Googlebot-News
• Googlebot-Video
• AdsBot Google
Each type of Google bot can have different IP addresses.
What Is Google IP Address?
Google IP address is any IP address that is owned and maintained by Google servers. Such IP addresses enable Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Cloud hosting, and Google bots.
Therefore, when one asks what is google ip address, the response should be:
👉 Google does not use one single IP address.
👉 Google owns thousands of IP ranges worldwide.
Does Google Publish a Googlebot IP Address List?
Google does NOT offer a public static list of googlebot IP addresses.
Why?
Because:
• IP addresses are constantly changing
• New IP addresses are being added on a regular basis
• Bots are running from multiple data centers
Google has an official verification process instead of a static list.
Googlebot IP Ranges
Google provides its IP ranges for all services in a JSON file with the following names:
• cloud.json
• googlebot.json
These files hold all Google IP ranges, including:
• Googlebot IP ranges
• AdsBot Google IP ranges
• Google Cloud IPs
This is as close as you will get to a true googlebot ip ranges list.
How to Verify Googlebot (Official Method)
If you see a crawler claiming to be Googlebot, follow these steps:
Step 1: Reverse DNS Lookup
Take the IP address and perform a reverse DNS lookup.
The valid hostnames should end with:
• googlebot.com
• google.com
Example:
crawl-66-249-66-1.googlebot.com
Step 2: Forward DNS Lookup
Take the hostname and reverse it back to IP.
If it gives the same IP, it is a genuine Googlebot.
This step is called verify googlebot.
Why Verification Is Important?
Spammers use fake bots that can impersonate Googlebot. They can:
• Scrape content
• Steal data
• Overload servers
Verification safeguards your website.
Googlebot IP vs Google’s IP
Although IPs may vary, most Googlebot IPs appear this way:
• 66.249.x.x
• 64.233.x.x
• 72.14.x.x
• 74.125.x.x
These alone are NOT sufficient to confirm. Always check.
AdsBot Google
AdsBot Google crawls landing pages for Google Ads quality and policy reviews.
User agent example:
AdsBot-Google
AdsBot Google also employs Google IP addresses and requires the same verification.
Crawl List Google – Types of Google Crawlers
A simple crawl list Google follows is this:
• Googlebot Desktop
• Googlebot Smartphone
• Googlebot Image
• Googlebot Video
• Googlebot News
• AdsBot Google
Each crawler has a unique crawling intention.
How to Allow Googlebot in Firewall
Rather than whitelisting individual IPs:
✔ Allow verified Googlebot through reverse DNS
✔ Do not block entire Google IP ranges
✔ Crawl activity should be checked in logs
This is more secure than using an outdated googlebot ip address list.
Can I Block Googlebot?
Yes, but not recommended.
Blocking Googlebot means:
• Pages not indexed
• Rankings drop
• Traffic loss
If needed, use robots.txt instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Googlebot IP?
Googlebot IP is an IP address used by Google’s crawler to access websites. - Does Google have one IP?
No. Google owns millions of IP addresses. - Where can I get a Googlebot IP address list?
Google does not provide a static list. Use Google’s JSON IP range files and verification method. - Is 66.249 Googlebot?
Often yes, but still must be verified. - How to check if IP belongs to Google?
Use reverse DNS + forward DNS lookup.
Best Practice for SEOs
• Do not rely on static Googlebot IP lists
• Always verify bots
• Monitor crawl stats in Google Search Console
• Keep server logs
Final Thoughts
There is no googlebot ip address or fixed googlebot ip address list. Googlebot IP addresses are spread across the globe. The only way to verify Googlebot is through DNS verification.
Knowledge about googlebot ips, googlebot ip ranges, and how to verify googlebot is essential to protect your website and ensure Google can crawl your website content effectively.