I am going to leave out the techy terms so that you may better
understand and I know what to say. Lets keep this post simple and to the
point.
Anyone just starting out should have a basic understanding of these
giant behemoth search engines and how webmasters can benefit from
the engines need for deliverable facts and information.
Searches are being conducted all over the world second by second and
minute by minute with responses being delivered just as fast.
They can be a source of traffic for webmasters
and business owners but only if we know how or what to do
in order to tap into this vast resource.
Understanding How Search Engines Work
Search engines are complicated software systems that are designed to grab
relevant information from its ginormous data banks and deliver that info to
anyone that types in either a website URL address, a question, or a few
keywords.
The info that is served up by the search engine may be web images or files
that all pertain to the initial search.
A search engine could be viewed as a very large complicated answering
machine.
These search monsters use a web crawler or
spiderbot that constantly trolls the internet for
indexing and placement of new and relevant
material as well as the previously indexed data.
There are settings within a website back office that
allows for pages or posts that when checked direct
engine to not craw or index that page or post.
These pages will be left out of the index, along with
pages that will not be linked to.
The information that the web crawler puts together is stored and served up
by the search engines.
Search engines are executed by company-specific computer code and
algorithms that determine which are the best results to deliver.
Normally, well documented and referenced pages rank higher and land on
the search engines upper part of the results pages.
These can be considered authority sites which are more often searched for
by consumers and could be considered popular sites.
The more often a website is being searched, or its popularity will give that
site a boost within a search engines algorithm.
The more popular a site becomes will give rise to that site’s posts or pages
being served up by the search engine as answers to queries of that or
similar topics.
An algorithm is simply a set of rules or directions in a certain order on how
to accomplish any particular task. For example, a cooking recipe is an
algorithm.
You add certain ingredients in a particular order to get the desired outcome.
Every search engine has its own personalized algorithm and is considered
their trade secret.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short means to configure your site
in a way as to make it easy for a search engine’s bot to crawl your site and
index the material within your site in the most efficient way.
There are several ways to do this.
Writing within given parameters can always keep your material optimized
and ready to be crawled and indexed in quick fashion.
When including links in your work try and create links within the text
instead of having click here links.
Those Click here links have no SEO value aside from the URL attached to
them.
Instead of the words click here it is best to use a name or title of what you
are talking about, gaining some keyword value.
Try and use descriptive links where ever suitable.
This improves SEO, adds value to your content and helps those with
disabilities that are using screen readers.
When you are using audio or visual media always include an alt tag or
alternative label.
This helps your material get indexed
and categorized for
further indexing
improving SEO.
When someone
searches on the Internet, they usually enter one or more words in a search
engine and this is what the search engine uses to locate the information and
serve it up to the respectful searcher.
The results are the ones that, according to the search engine, are relevant to
the search word or phrase that was used in the query.
When you choose keywords for your work it is absolutely necessary to use
This will help you find keywords that are not saturated with competition
that can lower your chance of getting ranked higher on the page.
Some information provided by some of these research tools would be how
many websites are using that same keyword, how much traffic you can
expect using that keyword, and what variations of a phrase would be better
or worse according to what you are trying to achieve.
As cell phone and tablet markets continue to grow it is very important that
you make sure the hosting and or web builder service that you use is
implementing the necessary coding to automatically optimize your site for
the different devices.
The different website builders have different themes that the website
structures are loaded on or built around.
I know that in WordPress there are many Website themes to choose from
and some are more smartphone-friendly than others.
With the market going in that direction this is something worth keeping in
mind when trying to build a responsive website.
Difference Between a Browser and a Search Engine
A browser is a software configuration that allows one to access and view
information on the Internet.
Some more popular
browsers are Google
Chrome, Firefox by Mozilla, Yahoo-owned by Verizon, Safari from Apple,
and Internet Explorer from Microsoft.
A Search Engine, on the other hand, points you in the direction of a website
that correlates to the words that you type into your search bar within your
browser.
The search engine then goes through their databases of information in
order to locate the information you are looking for.
You use a browser to access a search engine.
I remember reading on the internet in the recent past that the difference
between a browser and a search engine is like driving a car: The windshield
would be the browser and the steering wheel would be the search engine.
.
Get A Better Search Engine Position
Of all the different things that can affect your position in any search engine
the one main thing that will determine your success is your content and
how you present it.
You should be able to interject light witty comments as well as descriptive
useful information in a conversational type writing format.
In other words, just be yourself and write the facts to the reader.
Also, add fresh content and update your past works on a regular basis.
This will keep those spiders crawling and the search engines paying
attention to your work.
When first starting out try and create a short keyword rich URL for your
website.
This is not always possible and is not a deal breaker but every advantage no
matter how small a detail is always a step in the right direction.
Make a useful, informational site, and accurately describe your content
with proper grammar and sentence structures.
Write for the reader.
There are many facets to understanding what a search engine does and
how to get a better position in the searches.
Focusing on them all or even several when starting out would be a mistake.
Get good at the most important and the rest will come as you immerse
yourself in the craft.
Content is king and that my friend will never change.
Take Away
I hope you have learned some useful facts about how a search engine works
and how we can benefit from this world wild information highway.
You know, we are all on a journey, a venture of learning and interacting
with new relationships and newer technologies that were not around a
short time ago.
We can embrace the new and make the not so new better by our willingness
to share our experiences, good and bad, with those coming up that yearn
for direction in an ever-changing digital world.
The many aspects of the internet and how it all comes together can be very
confusing if a person looks at it as a whole.
When broken down into pieces or segments these aspects can be learned
and implemented much easier.
This is how the Wealthy Affiliate has its courses and classes set up
increasing the success of their members.
Try the free membership and take advantage of the free training.
The free membership is free forever and includes 2 free websites.
If you have any questions or comments about anything at all please leave
them below in the comments section. I would love to hear from you.
All The Best
Paul Price
Paul,
This is a very interesting and informative article. There are distinct differences between a search engine and a browser. Your post outlined the differences very well.
Your points about SEO were informative as well. Especially the fact that the search engines use bots to scour the internet looking for unique content. I will keep these in mind as I write my posts.
Thanks,
Ellen
Thanks for time and comments EC
Paul this is a great “primer” on terms we hear so often these days but rarely see defined or explained. You’ve provided some basic but invaluable ground-work for anyone trying to understand search engines operate. It’s especially helpful that you pointed out how they differ from a browser. Anyone using the internet and especially anyone interested in creating their own blog or website needs to be sure they grasp all the insights you’ve covered in this informative article.
Thank you for your time Cheri and those clarifying comments.
With search engines being at the absolute core of basically all human searches globally, I think mastering them and understanding how to use them as a tool instead of just a time waster is so key. Keyword research tools like the one you mentioned absolutely changed the way I view online business. When you know exactly what your target audience is looking for down to their search words, there is money to be made 🙂 Nicely explained.
Thank you Eric,
Your time and comments are much appreciated.