Search Engine Optimization: Understanding How Search Engines Work

In order to understand the strategies that will improve your online presence, it is important to understand what search engines are and how they work. Search engines are like computer algorithms, which help users to find specific information that they are searching for.

What is an Algorithm?

Ok, so you know the "technical" definition, but you may be asking, "What on earth is an algorithm?" An algorithm is a set of detailed instructions that results in a "predictable end-state from a known beginning." The instructions given for an algorithm must be precise or the result will not be correct. To help you further understand an algorithm, here is a simple example.

Let's look at a model airplane. When you are given the starting set of a number of marked pieces, you are able to follow the instructions, which will result in a predictable end-state, which is the completion of the airplane. If the instructions are not written down properly or you do not follow the instructions as they are written, then the airplane will not turn out right.

Now, let's apply the algorithm to a computer program. Did you know that a computer program is simply a set of instructions? These instructions are of different degrees of complexity that are in a specific order and are created to perform a specific function.

Let's Recap:

Now that you understand what an algorithm is, maybe you will better understand what SE's are. Remember, they are computer algorithms that help users find specific information they are searching for.

How do they work?

While the many different search engines work in different ways, they all use the same basic principles. Here are the steps of how one works. They must:

*Step One: Make a Database
One must make a local database of the Internet. In the past, search engines only indexed keywords and titles of pages. As they advanced, they began to index all of the text on every page, as well as a variety of information about that page's relation to other pages. Why do search engines index this information? They do this so they can run searches more efficiently, instead of having to search all over the Internet every time a user makes a query.

*Step Two: Perform Periodic "Crawls" of the Internet Using Spiders
Yes, you read this right! Se's use spiders or robots, which are computer programs built into index pages. They flip through pages and record all of the data on the page. They also follow every link to new pages. Different search engines will refresh their indexes at different times. It all depends on how many spiders are they have constantly crawling, as well as how fast those spiders can crawl. Some search engines will refresh their indexes every day or two, while others only refresh every week or even every month.

The spider will go through the pages and record the words it finds. The spider then makes notes on how many times each word appears and if the words are weighted in specific ways, such as based on size, location or HTML markup. The spider then determines how relevant the words are based on the links that come in to the page, as well as the general context of the page.

*Step Three: Weigh the Value of Each Page
This is not such an easy job for the SE's, but it is one of the most important jobs. This is one of the trickiest hardest jobs a search engine must do. A SE cannot just keep track of every word on the page and then record that as a relevant page for users searching for a particular keyword. Just because a keyword is on a particular page, does not mean this is a relevant page for the user's search.

They Measure the Value of Each Page Differently

Algorithms that many search engines use are highly protected to prevent people from designing pages just to better their ranks. This is why some search engines will have different results for the same keyword. For example, Google may determine that one page is the best page for a keyword that is searched, while Ask might decide this page is not pertinent. How is all this determined? It is all based on:

• How they value inbound and outbound links
• The density of keywords used
• How they value the different placement of words
• Many different factors

The Future for Searches

While keywords are very important to how you are ranked by the search engines, search engines are in the early stages of developing a new way to search, which is called "concept-based" searches. This new form of search does not limit you to the keywords you input. Instead, it tries to figure out what a keyword means so that it can recommend pages that may not include the exact word, but are pertinent to your search.

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