A search engine is web-based software that is used to search the internet for links and information. It is based on an algorithm that searches the web according to certain metrics and indexes content. Based on the search engines, users receive relevant and individualized SERPs based on the search queries entered. In the field of search engine optimization (SEO) and web technology, a search engine is a central platform that facilitates access to web content. Here, es is about significantly increasing your own visibility in order to be found.
Search engine providers place (rank) search results according to 2 main characteristics: paid search results (SEA) and organic search results (SEO). To get the best SEA ranking, website operators must pay the highest bid for an ad. SEO rankings are generated by a variety of quality and ranking factors - onpage and offpage.
Basically, there are es search engines with their own index, meta search engines and proxy search engines.
A search engine with its own index collects all available information in its own database (index). Users can submit queries, whereupon the search engine searches its index and delivers relevant results. It uses complex algorithms to index and categorize web content and make it efficiently accessible to users.
The indexing process for search engines with their own index comprises several steps:
Crawling queue: Search engines use crawlers or bots that search the web to find new and updated content. These bots follow links from one page to the next and collect data. All data is stored in a crawling queue before processing.
Crawling: The websites found are analyzed. The content (text, images, videos, etc.) is extracted and structured. In this step, URLs are copied if the meta robots tags and the Robots.txt file allow this.
Incidentally, search engines do not crawl URLs in a fixed order. The criteria as to why the Google search engine crawls URLs, for example, depends on the following factors:
In the indexing step in the search engine, the data of all crawled pages is created in a database (search index). This is comparable to a digital library. All content is "archived" here according to keywords, quality features and user signals
Whether URLs and content have been indexed by the search engine can be checked in the Google Search Console or the Bing Webmaster Tools. Alternatively, the Site:Query has also proven itself.
Search engines with their own index regularly update their data structure in order to provide users with the latest information. Websites with contemporary topics or rapidly changing facts should therefore pay particular attention to optimizing and updating the website.
In contrast to search engines with their own index, proxy search engines act as intermediaries between users and other search service providers. They forward search queries via the browser to a primary search engine and present the results back to the user. Es proxy search engines protect the privacy of users by anonymizing user data and obscuring search queries. They offer an additional layer of data security by avoiding the user's direct interaction with the primary search engine.
Startpage: Uses the Google index. USP: Offers strong data protection functions by anonymizing es user queries and forwarding them to Google without tracking.
DuckDuckGo: Uses various sources, including Bing, Yandex and its own crawlers. USP: Focuses on data protection, does not store user data and offers a neutral search experience without personalized results.
Searx: Aggregates results from over 70 search engines, including Google, Bing and Yahoo. USP: Open-source and highly customizable, allows es users to configure their privacy settings and search sources individually.
Meta search engines send search queries to several other search engines at the same time and aggregate the results. Their USP lies in the broad coverage and variety of search results, as they combine data from different sources. They offer a more comprehensive search and save time by allowing users to search multiple search engines with a single query.
Dogpile: Combines results from Google, Yahoo, Bing and others, offering a wide range of information.
Metacrawler: Collects results from search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, filters out duplicates and presents a curated list.
Ixquick: Aggregates results from several search engines with a focus on user privacy and anonymity.
Search engines are essential for search engine optimization (SEO ). This is because they are the key to the findability of websites. Historically, search engines such as Yahoo! and Altavista developed, but today's landscape is dominated by companies such as Google, Bing, Yandex, Seznam, Baidu, Ecosia, Youtube and others - depending on the region.
The changes in the algorithms of these search engines have had a major impact on the SEO landscape. In the past, rankings were based on a specific keyword and meta tags. Today, factors such as user experience, content quality, loading times and mobile optimization are taken into account. These are just a few SEO factors that influence the ranking of websites.
These optimization measures improve websites for search engines:
To effectively use search engines such as Google, Bing, Yandex, Seznam, Baidu and Ecosia, as well as a video platform such as YouTube, website operators should follow a few best practices: