How Search Engines Work

1. Crawling

Crawling is the process where search engine bots, also known as crawlers or spiders, discover web pages on the internet by following links. These bots systematically browse websites to find new and updated content.

Example: When Googlebot visits a website's homepage, it follows all the links on that page to discover other pages on the site.

2. Indexing

Once a page is crawled, the search engine processes and stores its content in a large database called the index. This index serves as a library that the search engine references when providing search results.

Example: After Googlebot crawls a blog post about "healthy recipes," the post's content (text, images, and metadata) is stored in Google's index.

3. Ranking

Search engines use algorithms to determine the relevance and quality of indexed content for a user's query. This process is called ranking. Factors like keywords, backlinks, and page speed influence a page's position in search results.

Example: If a user searches for "best pizza recipes," pages with optimized content, high-quality backlinks, and good user experience are more likely to rank at the top.

Flowchart Example

Here’s a simple text-based flowchart illustrating the process:

    User Query
       ↓
    Search Engine
       ↓
    Crawling → Indexing → Ranking
       ↓
    Display Results
    

Key Takeaways

• Crawling is the first step where bots discover web pages.
• Indexing stores the content of those pages in a database.
• Ranking determines the order in which pages are displayed in search results.

Continue to Chapter 3 to learn about Keyword Research Basics.