How can PHP developers distinguish between search engine robots and regular users in log files?

To distinguish between search engine robots and regular users in log files, PHP developers can check the user-agent string in the HTTP headers of incoming requests. Search engine robots often have specific user-agent strings that can be used to identify them. By examining the user-agent string, developers can determine whether the request is coming from a search engine robot or a regular user. 

$userAgent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'];

if (strpos($userAgent, 'Googlebot') !== false || strpos($userAgent, 'bingbot') !== false) {
    // Log as search engine robot
    error_log('Search engine robot accessed the site');
} else {
    // Log as regular user
    error_log('Regular user accessed the site');
}

Keywords

PHP user agent log files regular expression browser detection

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