This is a guide to search engines, which are programs that identify items in its database that correspond to search queries made by users who are looking for information on the web.
A search engine collects content from websites all over the Internet, storing it in databases, and organizing it through the use of algorithms. Someone using a search engine will enter a query about whatever it is that they would like to find, and the search engine will provide links to web content that matches the searcher's query. Millions of searches are conducted every day, and the search engines return results that its algorithms consider to be the most relevant to the search query. Algorithms are changed often in an attempt to avoid manipulation.
In 1993, there were only a few hundred websites, and most of them were hosted by colleges and universities. Even before most of these sites were created, a search engine had been developed. Known as Archie, the first search engine combined a script-based data gathering program with a regular expression matcher for retrieving file names that matched a user query. Unlike today's search engines, Archie's database included only file names and did not archive the contents of the documents.
Search engines use small software programs known as bots to locate the information that will be added to the search engine database. Bots are simple programs that automate repetitive tasks, and that name is used for any program that interfaces with the user or collects data. Bots used to collect data for search engines are known as spiders, which is a play on the idea of the Internet being a web. These spiders follow links from websites that are already in the search engine's database to other sites that are not, indexing them in the process, along with any links that are contained on these new pages.
By far the most popular search engine today, Google was created by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were students at Stanford at the time. Originally known as Backrub, their search engine was renamed when went commercial in 1998, with initial funding from Sun Microsystems.
Although Google's algorithm is changed often, some of the things that are involved in the decisions that it makes are believed to include the presence of the search query words or phrases on the pages, including synonyms, with an extra bump if they appear in the title or web address. Google assigns a ranking to each of the sites that it indexes. Although Google no longer makes its Page Rank public, it surely exists in some form, and pages with a higher ranking are likely to rank well in Google search engine results pages on relevant keywords. Also likely to be important is the length of time that the page or site has been online and how often it is updated. The site's authority is in part determined by the number and ranking of the sites that link to it.
Although the Bing search engine uses a separate algorithm, it is probably similar in most respects. Although they differ, pages that routinely rank well in Google's SERPs generally do well in Bing's.
Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex all allow for searches of the web, image searches, and video searches.
Using a search engine to locate information on the web, users will enter a query into the search field. This query may be a single word, a phrase, or a question, and these queries are often referred to as keywords or key phrases. They might also be known as search terms.
In preparation for a web search, a user should consider what it is that they are trying to find. Which words or phrases might they expect to find on a site that is relevant to what they are looking for? Also, remember that a search query is a communication with a machine, and not a real person, so proper grammar is not important. Words like a, an, as, and the are likely to confuse the search engine, and should be used only when the user is searching for a specific sentence, which would be enclosed in quotation marks.
When framing a query, every word matters to the search engine, as does the word order and the correct spelling of the word. Capitalization doesn't matter, and punctuation normally doesn't matter.
Most search engines include an auto-complete feature. As a user begins to type a search query into the search field, suggested phrases are included beneath the search field. When these appear to be relevant to what the user is looking for, they can be chosen. This feature can be a help to users who need help formulating their searches, and a timesaver for others.
Although they are displayed differently from one search engine to another, all search engines include paid advertising. Although intentionally subtle, paid ads are differentiated from native search results in one way or another, and are usually located at the top, bottom, or side of legitimate search results.
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Owned and operated by Microsoft, the predecessors of Bing were MSN Search, Windows Live Search, and Live Search. Globally, Bing is the third most popular search engine, after Google and Baidu. In the United States and Canada, it is surpassed only by Google. Although Yahoo! Search has its own index and uses its own algorithm, it is largely powered by Bing. Bing provides web, image, video, map, and shopping searches. Registered users of Bing can earn points redeemable for gift coupons.
https://www.bing.com/
Based in Sweden, and associated with the WorldLight Network, the search engine maintains its own database, collecting information through a bot known as Speedy Spider, and may also receive data from other search engines and sources, such as Wikipedia, and contributes data to Startpage and Exactseek. Social media sites may be searched also. The search engine also maintains a web directory, a submission service, and a search engine optimization and email marketing service.
https://www.entireweb.com/
Founded in 2000, Gigablast is a fully independent search engine, one of only a few in the United States that maintains its own searchable index. Gigablast supports specialized searches and Boolean algebraic operators, as well as a related-concepts feature it refers to as Giga Bits. The search engine includes options for searching the web and for image searches. Sites may be added to its crawl schedule for a 25-cent fee. Searches may also use Startpage or DuckDuckGo.
https://www.gigablast.com/
Owned by Google LLC, an American multinational technology company, the Google search engine is the most popular in the world, and its site is the most visited website in the world. Its search engine allows searches of the web, images, videos, news, shopping, and news. Various settings allow the user to filter search results and to use advanced search features, as well as an option to search verbatim for the search terms entered and to search for data from a specified time frame.
https://www.google.com/
Designed to provide for better search and more privacy, Luxxle allows users to filter results by source and, within that order, results can be arranged in different orders. For example, mainstream media sources can be filtered out, as could conservative or liberal sources. Luxxle supports 12 languages and is available in North and South America, Australia, and Europe. Luxxle doesn't sell user data, collects only minimal user data, and searches are secure and encrypted.
https://luxxle.com/
Announced in 1995, MetaCrawler was one of the oldest meta search engines still in operation. However, after changing hands several times, and being merged with one or two other search products, MetaCrawler was relaunched in 2017 as its own search engine. Owned by InfoSpace, the search engine gives users the options of searching the Web, images, videos, or news. Ads are displayed on top of and below native search results and suggested search terms are on the right.
http://www.metacrawler.com/
Founded in 2018, one of Result Hunter's original aims was to stop liberal propaganda, favoring conservative results, while Google's ranking scheme favors liberal results. Using Bing's APIs, the search engine generates results that are less likely to be dominated by the liberal media. Search options include web, images, videos, and news searches, and, within the news section, results are more likely to be from conservative sources. Browser extensions are available.
https://resulthunter.com/
Search Engine Guide is an educational website that provides search engine information and translates search marketing for the use of small business owners. The website provides search engine marketing articles that covers topics from analytics to viral marketing and a search engine marketing guide that contains step-by-step procedure. The website also contains details on small business conferences, features search engine news and provides a search engine directory and a search marketing eBook.
http://www.searchengineguide.com
Founded in 1994, and currently owned by Verizon Media, Yahoo! is an American web services provider with its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. As an early Internet pioneer, Yahoo began as a web directory, which it closed on December 31, 2014. Once the second most popular search engine in the world, it now mixes data from Bing with its own index but is still the third most used search engine in the United States. Searches may be made on the web, images, video, news, and other options.
https://www.yahoo.com/
Launched in 1997, Yandex is a Russian search engine primarily serves Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States but the search engine’s bots regularly index the English-language Web, and is making inroads in the United States and elsewhere. It has thirty offices worldwide, including the Silicon Valley in Northern California. Through Yandex, searches can be conducted on the web, images, and video. Advertising opportunities are available.
https://yandex.com/
