Search Engine: Definition, Function, and How It Works
Search engine or search engine is something that is highly relied upon by the public in finding all information on the internet. Starting from searching for trivial to important information, everything uses a search engine.
As an active internet user, you are certainly familiar with search engines. However, do you know about the ins and outs, starting from the understanding, functions, to how it works? If not, then don't miss the interesting discussion in this article!
What Is a Search Engine?
A search engine is a program designed to help internet users find all the information they need online simply by entering keywords, phrases, or sentences.
Search engines search and discover information through a number of steps. Then display relevant results on the search page or SERP (Search Engine Result Page). Usually, the number of sources displayed per search page is 10.
If the keywords, phrases, or sentences entered have errors, the search engine will suggest input corrections or display the closest results. Usually, the displayed results match 9/10 with what the user wants.
Then, if the keywords, phrases, or sentences entered are 'blocked' by certain parties, for example, the government or if these three things do not yet have relevant sources on the internet network, the search engine will display no results.
For now, entering keywords, phrases, or sentences can not only be done by typing. Because, since AI or artificial intelligence has undergone rapid updates, users can enter these three things through voice in the form of questions.
Furthermore, search engines now also facilitate searches through image or audio inputs. Perhaps the input updates for search engines can become more advanced in the future.
Functions of Search Engines
The true function of a search engine is not only to help internet users find the information they need. Because, there are other search engine functions that are also useful for internet users. Well, here are those functions:
Facilitating Website Address Search
Information available on the internet network is available on website content. Therefore, it can be said that if users search for information on the internet network, it means the same as searching for the website that contains it.
In the SERP itself, search engine search results can be in the form of text, images, audio, or video. Of course, all search results lead to website addresses. So, this is what is meant by the function of 'facilitating the search for website addresses'.
In essence, the function of the search engine in this first point is to facilitate the search for website addresses that contain the information needed by internet users, but users do not know the address.
Freeing Information Access Across Languages
Internet users are certainly scattered all over the world and use their respective languages. Therefore, it is not surprising that the content available on the internet network also consists of various languages.
Search engines are very useful for finding various information available in various languages. Of course, this information access can be done without limitations, regardless of a person's race, ethnicity, religion, or economic class.
Streamlining Browsing Activities
When having ideas, questions, and thoughts, internet users rely on search engines. Besides because of the user's ignorance of website addresses, the use of search engines is due to the ease of browsing information.
So, instead of browsing information by sorting through the contents of millions of website addresses manually, the presence of search engines can do it quickly and display the results on the search page.
Becoming a Financial Source
Search engines are not only useful for helping internet users find information. However, it also functions as a financial source. This works through ads displayed on websites embedded with keywords or phrases.
So, if you have a popular website and are flooded with many visitors, there are times when people will be interested in placing ads on your website. Usually, these ads contain a number of keywords or phrases.
If there are internet users who enter keywords that match the ads on your website, then click on them, as the website owner, you can earn royalties every time someone views or clicks on the ad.
Becoming a Marketing Medium
This is similar to the previous function point. However, this time, you yourself place ads on the search page with specific keywords. From this, it can be said that search engines are also useful as a marketing medium.
How Search Engines Work
Search engines work not as simple as searching for sources on library bookshelves. Because, it is more complex and divided into 3 stages. Now, below are the points and brief explanations:
Crawling
Any search engine has a robot responsible for scanning or scanning information or sources on the internet world that match their segment or area of authority.
So, search engines on the surface internet will scan all forms of information or sources available on the surface internet. This also applies to search engines on the dark internet.
About how crawling works is by checking every corner in the internet network, starting from text, content, media, folders, subpages, main pages, and so on. In essence, everything that can be hunted.
In short, crawling is a process that runs a website content search through the links it finds. Not only unraveling link A, the search can also find links A2, B, B2, C, D, and so on.
Indexing
This is the process of validating the 'content storage' of web pages in the search engine's database or index. In short, the database in the search engine is also called a large library that contains websites.
Well, websites that are easily found by search engines in the internet network have certainly been well indexed. Usually, this process and crawling run continuously so that the database can always be relevant to the search.
Ranking
The next working process of search engines is ranking. This is the sorting of search results displayed on the search page or SERP. The ranking process itself is done according to the algorithm of each search engine.
Factors Affecting Ranking Determination in Search Engines
The last working process or ranking of search engines is very important and always the main focus for internet users who create websites. Now, below are the factors that affect ranking determination in search engine results:
Website security and accessibility
Page loading speed
Mobile-friendly website
Backlinks
Quality content
Technical SEO
Domain authority
User experience
Examples of Search Engines
Currently, there are many search engines on the surface internet. Some examples include:
Bing
Yandex
DuckduckGo
Yahoo
Swisscows
Wolfram Alpha
StartPage
Search Encrypt
Gibiru
OneSearch
Baidu
CC Search
Looksmart
Boardreader
Ecosia
Ask
Now, there are fewer examples of search engines on the darknet. Here are some examples:
DuckduckGo
Ahmia
Torch
Recon
notEvil
Candle
Haystack
Kilos
In Indonesia, these search engines are rarely used because darknet is illegal and problematic. Of course, only a small and specific part of the population may access it.
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