How search engines work
Findology 101 describes how the search engines work, provides some statistical data, and what search engine have the largest share of the search market. Please keep in mind search engine market share fluctuates all the time and as is the nature of competition.
To give you a start on how the search engines work you may want to check out this
interactive search engine relationship chart which shows relationships between different search engines. Who is feeding who, content, and ads. It may come as no surprise that Google is the dominant player as far as search volume and reach is concerned.
How Search Engines Work
Search engines send out spiders or bots to crawl websites for information. Once the spiders find information it is indexed, categorized, and sorted the information will be served when a person types in a keyword(s). The big mystery is exactly how Google and other search engines rank websites when the sites are displayed in the search engine results pages [SERPS]. Please note this description is a lite version of how the search engines work. It is a little more complicated than as noted.
This is what
search engine optimization is all about. Trying to figure out how the search engines index then serve the information back to the searching individual. There are 500 or more guesstimated aspects by which Google ranks and indexes your website. Top search engine professionals know many of these keys to higher natural rankings but nobody but those folks at Google and the respective search engines know exactly what the algorithms really are. If they did, it would be easy to rank well for any keyword one wanted to. This, as we know, is not the case.
Search Engine Relationships and Market Share
To get an idea of what the current search engine market share is, check out
Search Engine Market Share a very cool link which shows estimated market share. Please keep in mind that both of these tools should be considered with a grain of salt or two. Meaning, Searchology 101 has provided these links to offer perspective on how the search engines work.
Search Engine Statistics
If you are still trying to make up your mind as to advertise online or to not advertising online, the statististcs below may help you finalize your decision. According to
The Pew Internet & American Life Project, 73% of all Americans claim to be using the Internet. In yet another study, Pew researchers found
how Americans are using the Internet.
- 92% surveyed said that the Internet was a good place to get information
- 85% claimed the Internet was a excellent tool for communicate or interact with others
- 75% said that it was a good way to conduct everyday transactions
- 55% use the Internet to buy movie tickets, sporting tickets, or concert tickets online
- 33% use the Internet to buy everyday items
Types Of Searching Individuals
Another recent study suggested that 65% of individuals use the Internet to aid in buying decisions. The authors of
Search Engine Marketing, Inc offer up
Andrei Broder's segmentation of searching individuals.
- Informational Searchers - Seeking information or answers to questions
- Transactional Searchers - Looking for something to buy, sign up for, enter a contest, etc.
- Navigational Searchers - Seeking specific website like 'searchology 101' or 'findology 101'.