Search Engine Dynamics

When you perform a search using Google, you are not actually searching the entire Internet, only a portion of the Internet called an ‘Index’. The Index is chosen by Google’s software program, using what they call ‘Spiders,’ and keeps an assortment of web pages on file for Google to sift through whenever you type in your search terms. In helping Google comprise their Index, the Spiders initially sift through a selection of pages containing various topics of information, and then search the links associated with those pages as well. Then, you type in your search terms, and Google searches its Index of pages for the terms you have specified.

Google determines which pages to pull to answer your search questions by using several parameters including counting the number of times your keywords appear on the page, where they appear on the page, whether there are related words or phrases on the page or variations, the quality of the website where the page originates, and what the ‘Page Rank’ is of this particular website, among other factors. Page Rank is determined by the amount of outside websites that are linked to the page, and the quality of the links themselves.

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