How Search Engines Work?

On the whole internet, search engines are the fastest and most knowledgeable place you can go to and get solutions for your questions or queries. But have you ever wondered how they work? No? Let’s go on this journey and get to know as much as we can about search engines.

The Three Functions: Crawling, Indexing And Ranking

If you want to understand in the simplest way how search engine works, remember it works in 3 steps - Crawling, Indexing and Ranking.

• Crawling

There are some bots that are constantly searching and discovering on the internet. They are known as crawlers and bots. Their work is to visit webpages, follow the links present in them and get new content.

• Indexing

When the bots have crawled to various web pages and new pages, the information is stored in a database called an Index. The search bots, go through content and look for keywords, phrases, content structure etc. It’s like arranging the books in a library.

• Ranking

How do you get results when you search for a query? After indexing, when you search with a keyword or phrase, relevant content is taken out and ranked on the basis of quality, relevance etc. And after that, you see the results.

Getting To Know The Internet

The way that search engines work is due to their algorithms. While most of it is a mystery, let’s get to know all that we found for you. Here are some factors that affect the search results -

• Relevance: The intent behind your search is what search engines provide and aim to know and provide solutions for. According to your search query, you get responses based on the relevancy of your query. 

• Keywords:  The words or phrases that you put in the search bar are what the search engine uses to provide you with results. They find every post with the same keywords and the ones closely related. These pages are studied and then provided to you based on your needs. 

• Backlinks: Backlinks as votes of confidence for your website on the internet. Whenever a high-quality website links to another website, it tells the search engines that the linked page is trustworthy and valuable. The more high-quality backlinks a webpage has, the higher it ranks.
  
  
• Freshness:  Search engines like and prioritize fresh, up-to-date content. If you're searching for news articles, a recent piece will likely outrank an outdated one.
  
  
• User Experience (UX): Search engines care about how users interact with websites. If a webpage is slow to load or has a confusing layout, it might be penalised in search rankings or not get ranked.
  
  

Beyond the Basics

Search engines are no longer just about keywords. Some algorithms need to be followed up to be able to provide users with what they need and rank as well. All that you see is influenced by your search history, locations and all the personal data.  

With that, search engines are still growing and updating to provide users with enhanced experience. It included content, videos, images etc. Additionally, mobile-friendliness is prioritised.

The Search Engine 

Search engines strive to provide the most relevant and trustworthy results. However, this digital space isn't without its challenges.

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Website owners often implement SEO techniques to improve their ranks in search results. While the SEO practices are valuable, some still use black-hat tactics, manipulating the system with keyword stuffing or low-quality content.
  
  
• Fake News: The spread of misinformation is a growing concern. Search engines are working on improving their algorithms to identify and demote fake news and wrong information websites.

Conclusion

To become a more knowledgeable user and get to know the search engines better has become crucial now. This way, you are able to understand how you get results and how you can approach the internet if you have your own website.

With the basic functions, search engines have also started considering the formats that people use nowadays i.e., voice search and image search. Now, they look for long tail keywords and images with alt text that resonates with the audience. The websites that fulfil this need are often ranked higher than the others.