A search engine searches the World Wide Web in a systematic way for information specified by a textual search query. The search engine then returns a list of online content results to the user, which may include links to Web pages and other types of information such as videos, images and data. Search engines use sophisticated algorithms to provide the most relevant information as possible when users type a search query into their tool.
All the information that is part of the World Wide Web is stored in a huge database. Each page that is indexed has information attached to it including keywords, and some other data such as the frequency with which those words appear on the page. When a search engine receives a search query from an end user, it looks for any relevant page in its database and then sorts the results based on their importance according to various complex criteria.
Gimmicks that less reputable SEO firms tout as ways to achieve top rankings may work for a time before the search engine’s algorithm becomes wise to the practice and penalizes sites using those tactics. Fortunately, anyone can use some basic but very effective techniques to make the most of their search tools and get better, more relevant results.
The first thing you must do to make the most of a search engine is to understand how it works. The best way to do that is to read about the algorithms and underlying technology that search engines use. Then you can apply those concepts to your own queries and learn how to craft the most efficient and useful searches for whatever you need from a search engine.
A search engine starts its work by examining the keywords on a given page and recording those words in its massive index. The search engine then uses its algorithms to rank the results it produces, often based on how frequently the words occur on the page and where in the sentence they appear. The result is a series of links to Web pages that are considered most important for a particular keyword query.
When using a search engine it is important to remember that fewer words are often better. The more specific a query is, the better and more relevant the results are likely to be. For example, a search for “Joe Bloggs” will be more focused and more relevant than one for “jeans.” In addition to searching for exact phrases, it is also possible to exclude words using the minus symbol. For example, a search for “Joe blogs” -jeans will surface only those results that have Joe Bloggs in the phrase but not the word jeans.
Many search engines offer advanced features that allow users to refine their searches in different ways, such as limiting the number of results returned by a certain level of importance or displaying only those results from a specific domain or language. In addition, some search engines mine information from other sources such as directories or social bookmarking websites, rather than having to crawl the entire Internet in order to provide real-time information for searchers.