Search engines are software systems that find information on the World Wide Web based on a textual query. The information found is often a mix of links to web pages, images, videos, infographics and articles. Some search engines also mine data from open directories, and others rely on the automated process of crawling web sites to maintain real-time indexes of information that can be used for queries. The techniques used by search engines to perform their tasks are highly complex.
Search engine optimisation is a set of practices used to improve the way that a website ranks for search terms. It can involve making changes to a site or the content of a page to improve its relevance for certain keywords, or to change the order in which results are displayed. The aim is to maximise the number of visitors and click-throughs from a web page.
A search engine works by indexing web pages and storing the terms that they contain in a database. A query is then compared to this index to identify pages that match. These are then returned to the user as a list of search results. Various methods are used by different search engines to rank the results, and some of these are influenced by the popularity of individual websites.
In addition to the methods that search engines use to rank results, there are also many techniques that end users can employ to improve their searches. These include truncation, phrase searching and filtering. Truncation uses a special symbol, such as an asterisk (*) to search for the entire word by starting with the letters that lead up to it. Phrase searching involves using quotation marks around a phrase, such as “solar energy,” to ensure that the search engine only looks for that phrase together and in the same order.
When a search engine has multiple possible matches for a query, it will typically return the most relevant ones first. This is why it is important to carefully consider your search terms before you submit them to a search engine.
Some people may want to search for specific types of content, such as PDF documents or blogs. Some search engines allow you to filter the results by content type, which can save a lot of time.
Many search engine techniques are not readily apparent to the average user, but they can be very useful for those who take the time to learn them. Learning these simple tricks can help improve the speed and accuracy of your searches, while increasing your ability to narrow down your results and locate the exact piece of information you are looking for.