Google has confirmed that it will not index the page or the content of your website if it requires cookies for viewing the content. John Mueller said in its Tweet that Google almost certainly cannot index a page that requires cookies. He said that you need to make sure to “remove the dependency” on cookies if you want Google to index the page.

John Mueller on Twitter has also confirmed that Google crawls the web stateless. That means Google doesn’t use cookies when crawling web pages.

Although Google can parse websites that require cookies to display content under some circumstances. But, as a search engine optimizing expert, you need to ensure that your content is accessible without cookies.

Now let’s discuss cookies.

What is a Cookie?

Websites leave a small text file called cookie on a visitor’s hard disk helping them to track that person over time. The last time you accessed a site, an ID number or potential information about your visit gets contained in a “cookie” data.

You can remember your visitors by options like displaying user’s information by their actions. Some common uses are remembering a username, maintaining your shopping cart, or tracking previously viewed content.

How Do Search Engines Interpret Cookies?

Search engine spiders don’t accept cookies and act as browsers with this functionality shut off. However, sometimes crawlers can reach content using webmaster now known as search console who will let them through. Many sites have pages that require cookies or sessions to be enabled, and they have special rules for search engine bots that permits them to access the content as well.

Why Use Cookies to Control Search Engine Access?

There are many tactics to leverage cookies for search engine control. Some Significant strategies are listed below:

• Showing Multiple Navigation Paths :

Different visitors want to view different content on a website. And by giving users multiple paths for reaching the same content, you can benefit your website with more traffic. It would be better if you also maintain the SEO value of a hyperlink that is focusing on a single navigational structure.

• Keeping the Content of the Pages Out of the Engine’s Indices:

Many pages contain both types of content, one that you’d like to show to search engines and the other that you’d prefer only for human visitors. These could include ads, login-restricted information, or links. You can show general users the plain version and cookie-accepting visitors the extended data.

• Grant Access to “Human-Only” or “Registered User-Only” Pages:

If you have a content that you want the visitors to view only after completing the registration, then you can create a page with a short snippet offering to continue reading once the user registration process is completed otherwise the visitor won’t be able to access it.