Try to imagine a world with the internet but without search engines.
It is difficult.
Even if you were around long before search engines existed, you are likely to now be so reliant on this useful tech that even going one day without typing a query into Google would feel completely alien.
However, even though Google experiences 63,000 searches per second which equates to 5.6 billion searches per day, how many of these searchers do you think to know how a search engine works?
If you are stumped when it comes to search engines but would like to know more about how these modern-day miracles work, within the below guide, you will learn:
- What is a search engine?
- How do search engines work?
- What is search engine crawling?
- How to increase your chance of getting crawled?
- What is indexing, and how does it work?
- How do search engines rank websites?
- How do Google’s search algorithms work?
What is a search engine?
As briefly touched on above, a search engine is a tool that you can use to search the internet. However, on a more technical level, a search engine consists of two key elements:
- A database of information
- A collection of algorithms
Take Google, for example. This search engine has a database of trillions of web pages, and its algorithms work by exploring hundreds of factors to determine the most relevant result for each query typed into the search box.
How do search engines work?
On the simplest level, search engines work by carrying out three basic functions:
- Crawling the internet to find new pages, content, and documents
- Putting this content into an index
- Ranking this content
Now that you know the basics let us take a closer look at each of the above functions to understand better exactly how a search engine works.
1. Crawling
A “crawler”, also known as a search engine spider, is a computer program that downloads webpages. The crawlers search engines use to discover new content by regularly re-crawling known pages where new links are added over time.
For example, when you publish a new blog post on your website, it will get pushed to the top of your homepage, where there will be a link. Google’s crawlers will then re-crawl that page, downloading the content with your recently added link.
The content that they find by visiting links on webpages can include:
- Other web pages
- PDF files
- Videos Images
How to increase your chances of getting crawled
Now that you know what crawling is and why it is important, the next step is to find out how you can increase your chances of being crawled.
As a general rule, crawlers tend to frequent popular websites more often. Although this may seem unfair, especially if you are a new business, the reason for this is simple. Popular websites tend to publish more new content than smaller websites that are relatively unknown. This is why link building is so vital, as by gaining a link from a more authoritative site, your content can be discovered by more people.
Other ways that you increase your chance of getting crawled include:
- Link any new content to an existing page on your website. By adding internal linking, crawlers can more easily find any new content that you publish.
- Create a site map. A sitemap is invaluable when it comes to crawlers, enabling them to crawl your site more easily and discover any new pages. However, it needs to be clear, well-structured, and devoid of unnecessary pages for a sitemap to be effective.
- Sign up for Google Console. If you have not already done so, by signing up to Google Console, you can find out about any crawling errors that are preventing your pages from being indexed properly.
2. Indexing
Once a site has been crawled, and new web pages or content have been discovered, this information will now be stored in an index. Think of a search index that has a huge digital library that contains trillions of different web pages.
If you are not in this index in terms of your business, you are invisible online. Lost in a sea of a trillion pages, with zero organic traffic from search engines being directed to your site.
Indexing website for search engines means that when a user inputs a search query, the search engine will then analyze the database and bring up the most relevant content. However, within the index, there will be millions of websites, so how does Google choose which one will best answer the user’s query?
The answer is by ranking them.
3. Ranking
Search engines use algorithms to determine how to rank websites for each search query they receive. In its simplest form, algorithms will score a website based on how effectively they fit their specific search requirements.
This may seem fairly straightforward. All you need to do is find out how the algorithms work and create your content accordingly. Unfortunately, it is not that simple to implement. Search engines are constantly changing their algorithms to improve their service and ensure the best search results for their users.
This means that if you want to keep enjoying organic traffic driven by search engines, you need to be on the ball when it comes to the latest algorithm updates. Alternatively, you could always hire an SEO expert to do all the hard work for you.
How do Google’s search algorithms work?
Although nobody knows exactly what factors Google looks at to find and rank relevant content (they just love being shrouded in mystery), there are a few key factors that you should pay attention to if you want them to rank you.
- Relevancy. Google states that when a web page contains the same keywords as the search query, especially when they are in prominent places such as the heading, they consider this to be a sign of relevance. That being said, you also need to include related words and phrases to help increase Google’s confidence that your page is about what you say it is.
- Search intent. Google prides itself on understanding why users perform a certain search result, allowing them to deliver better search results. There are four key components of search intent that you need to focus on: content style, content type, content format, and content angle.
- Freshness. Google prioritizes search results that were either published or updated recently as they know that users want the latest, up-to-date information. That being said, for some content, freshness is irrelevant, and Google understands this.
- Usability. Google favors content that is accessible and easy to use. Make sure you pay attention to page speed and the mobile friendliness of your site.
- Content quality. Google favors high-quality content, with its three main principles of great content being: expertise, authoritativeness, and trust.
Discover more about Google ranking factors and how you can use them to your advantage in this handy guide.
Conclusion
You could spend several months trying to figure out exactly how search engines work in a bid to get on the first page of SERPs and still not find the best answer. Instead, focus your efforts on creating great content that delivers the best information for the target word and, most importantly, that delivers the best possible user experience.
Remember, a search engine’s ultimate goal is to provide the best possible search result to each query. Therefore, if you prioritize the user, you are guaranteed favorable results rather than the search engine itself.
