Exploring the Basics of Search Engines

Search Engine Components

Search engines are special computer programs which explore the billions of pages of web content throughout the internet in an effort to provide relevant search results to end users.  Though some search engines access a far greater percentage of those web pages than others, no single search engine “sees” or “crawls” the entire internet.  Regardless of a search engine’s coverage size, the basic technology is largely the same the same as other search engines.  The three primary components of each search engine are the Robot, the Index, and the Search and Retrieval System. [Click to explore Search Engine Components: Engine Parts]

Web Page Components

No single web page component will absolutely make the page relevant to all search engines.  In addition to relying on the body text and headings of a web page for relevancy, search engines also explore the unseen portions of the HTML source code for additional information.  Because the area in the “head” section of the source code is largely invisible to the search engine user, web designers have repeatedly sought to improve their web hits by manipulating this area through the use of excessive and often unconnected keywords and phrases.  Equally important as the particular keywords used, are the locations of these components.  Also because it is located in the “head” area of the webpage (which comes before the body), this information will be read, copied and indexed by the search engine robot first, even on long or complicated web pages. [Click to explore Web Page Components: Page Items]

Search Engines Categories

As the internet has continued to grow, so have the varieties search engines available to users. [Click to explore Search Engine Categories]

Who are These Search Engines Anyway?

Despite apparent differences in search methods, result ranking, and business practices, most search engines are closer to each other than you may think. [Click to View Search Alliances]