Watch this video lesson:
Search engines are web software that help you find the right information.
This is fundamental knowledge for anyone learning SEO.
Having a clear understanding of how search engines work will help you better comprehend SEO.
It’s especially useful if you’re in an SEO analyst career path and need to explain these concepts to others.
The Librarian Analogy
Think about what a librarian does.
A librarian manages the library by organizing all the books.
They understand books automatically and put the right books on the right shelf.
When someone visits, they can browse through the right shelf to find what they’re looking for.
If they can’t find something, they can ask the librarian who knows where everything is because they’ve organized and ranked everything correctly.
This is exactly what search engines do – they automatically search their entire database to give you relevant results when you search on the web.
Three Core Stages of Search Engines
1. Crawling
Crawling is about finding new stuff.
Search engines need to keep updating their database as new websites and pages are created.
They follow links between pages, both internal and external.
They take notes on basic content and technical information.
They update information when pages change.
2. Indexing
Indexing is about organizing and understanding content in depth.
Modern search engines don’t just look at titles and descriptions.
They analyze the entire page content, including images.
They understand the page topic beyond just keywords.
This helps them catalog information effectively for quick searching.
3. Ranking
Ranking determines how results are ordered.
Search engines match search intent with content.
They evaluate content quality using various technical criteria.
They consider user experience in ranking decisions.
Results are ordered by relevance using complex algorithms.
Why This Matters for SEO
Understanding these processes helps ensure your SEO efforts are effective.
You need to make your website accessible for search engines.
Focus on making it easy to crawl, index, and understand.
This improves your chances of ranking well in search results.