Search Engines 101

How do Search Engines work?

It is an Internet database of webpages that gives Internet consumers the opportunity to explore info located on sites housed in the database by searching for “Keywords”. Internet users will search for “keywords” which are words or phrases that pertain to a certain topic. Every search engine has their specific keywords, which have their unique characteristics that match a topic. For instance, the phrase “What happens in Vegas” would match materials for entertainment, hotels, etc. in Las Vegas.

Isn’t there just one search engine?

No. Every search engine has its own identity. Search engines are a business. Google is a business with competitors like Yahoo and Bing. They each have to differentiate themselves to attract different consumers. While they may be similar, there is many more than just one search engine.

What are the ways a search engine can find my site?

There are a few different ways, but two main avenues.

First, search engines use “spiders”. They are also known as “bots”. The search engines deploy the spiders to track every link throughout all the different pages. When your website has links pointing to it from other sites, it is most likely going to be discovered by these bots and they will sort through your site at the same time.

The other way is when the search engines accept submissions of websites. Many search engines will have a space on their site to allow for a website designer or host to submit their URL.