Search Engines – What Do They Do?

Firstly, what is a Search Engine? A Search Engine is a tool that is web-based which enables users to find any information on the World Wide networking system. The most popular Search Engine is Google, but there are others such as Yahoo, MSN, Bing, etc.

They perform two main functions:

1. Indexing and Organizing Data

2. Handling Queries (knowing ALL the answers)

Search Engines return two things based on context and based on what you write (and how well it is written):

1. Results that are relevant

2. Results that are useful to the initial question being asked

Search Engines will return results based on relevance based on importance and relevance. It is the Search Engine’s job to return relevant and important results to the searcher!

Now, how do people use a Search Engine? How do you use Google or Yahoo or any other Search Engine? What is the point? People use Search Engines because they have a need for information. If you are unsure about something, if you want to learn a new thing, if you need to make a purchase whether it be clothes, decor or car parts, you can ‘Google it’. This is called formulating a query. So go to Google, or your choice of a Search Engine. Type in anything you want! Once you click “Search”, thousands, if not millions, of results pop up and you browse through them. The one that catches your attention is the first link you click on – usually a result on the first page. You scan the webpage for your solution to the query you entered into the search bar. If you are unsatisfied with the result that you first clicked on, you the return to the results page and look at other results, or just enter a new search!