How Do Search Engines Work?
A search engine is basically just a web page where you type in words when you are searching for services, products or information on the internet. Two top search engines are Google and Yahoo that are always roaming the World Wide Web. They have these worker bees that we refer to as “spiders” that “crawl” the web. Their primary focus is to find and index every piece of content and web page on the internet.
There’s no comparison really, according to reports from Statista, Google dominates when it comes to search engines. Google currently holds 87% of the market followed by Bing at just over 5%.
So, here’s how it works. Google’s search engine may find over a million pieces of various content regarding “bear-proof trash cans”. Between all the vast amounts of information that can be found, how does Google determine which content to rank at the top of its results? Search engines love and respond to content that has been optimized according to their ranking algorithm. For a more in-depth look into this process see our Google Analytics Short Course.
A primary focus of search engine algorithms is the use of keywords. If you have the right blend of search engine optimization, quality content, and keywords, you will eventually rank higher than your competitors. The two major functions of search engines are providing search results along with crawling and indexing.
Crawling and Indexing
Think of all the information connected online like a spider’s web. As previously mentioned, search engine spiders are constantly crawling the web for new and updated content. When they come across new or updated content, they add that content to their search engine index or library.
Keep in mind that search engine spiders don’t read the information the same as we humans do. However, Google is always working to improve their software and make it more humanlike. This means that you want your content easy to read and your HTML and other codes appealing to the search engines. When you provide those elements, you will see more traffic being driven to your site.
Search engines index content and determine if it is relevant or not for certain keywords and keyword phrases. So, for example, a page that Google ranks in the top spot for “cherry pie recipes” will more than likely not even be indexed at all for the keyword phrase “how to change a tire”. Different words are used to discuss completely different topics. This is why it’s so crucial that you use the correct keywords, and related words and phrases so that your content is easy to find and index accurately.
Delivering Search Results
This is the search engine task we are all the most familiar with, delivering the search results. All of us search for online information all the time. Google, Yahoo, or Bing then presents us with hundreds of pages of search results to choose from. If you’re like me, you probably don’t go past the first page of those results. That’s because we assume that the higher pages presented are more relevant for what we are searching for than the lower-ranked pages.
Search engines have the difficult and constant task of scouring through all the information on the Web, and then listing the results in order of relevancy for the particular term or phrase you entered. By simply changing one or two words in your search phrase, you can get extremely different results. That’s why using keywords and phrases is vital in helping your content get a higher rank.
With our Google Analytics workbook, you can better understand the metrics and numbers behind how the search engines are ranking your site. Learning the strategies behind Google Analytics will increase the ROI of your business because with this knowledge you will know what to tweak on your site. View the offer here.
