Web Design/Internet Essentials Search Engines and Searching the Web

Search Engines Search Engine Basics Formulating Searches The Web and 2

Search Engine Basics A Web search engine is a program designed to help locate information on the Web by formulating simple keyword queries.

Search Engines A search engine is helpful in locating information for which you may not know the exact web address on –web pages on various topics –locating specific web pages –images –videos There are thousands of search engines available.

Search Engines & Types GoogleSearch engine LycosDirectory Alta VistaSearch engine YahooDirectory WebCrawlerSearch engine ExciteSearch engine MSNDirectory AOLDirectory HotBotSearch engine

The Different Types of Search Engines Although the term "search engine" is often used indiscriminately to describe: –Web crawler search engines –human-powered directories –everything in between they are not all the same. Each type of "search engine" gathers and ranks listings in radically different ways.

How do search engines work Contains four parts –a web crawler –an indexing utility –a database –a query processor Web crawler: combs the web to gather data Indexing: processes the information gather by the crawler then stores key terms and URL’s in a database Query processor: allows you to access the database by entering keyword

Web Crawler Crawler-based search engines such as Google, compile their listings automatically They "crawl" or "spider" the web, and people search through their listings Spiders scour the web on a regular basis. Listings are what make up the search engine's index or catalog The index can be defined as a massive electronic filing cabinet containing copies of every web page the spider finds

Directories Directories depend on human editors to compile their listings –Webmasters submit an address, title, and a brief description of their site, and the submission is reviewed After a web site makes it into a directory it is generally very difficult to change its search engine ranking

Hybrid search engines Some search engines offer both crawler- based results and human compiled listings called “hybrid search engines”. They typically favor one type of listing. Yahoo usually displays human-powered listings. –It also draws secondary results from Google – which may display crawler-based results for more ambiguous queries

Search Engine Basics Search engines require you to enter a word or phase, “search text” or “keyword” that describe the item you want to find They often respond with results that include thousands of results, whose content varies based on the information you are seeking.

Formulating Searches Most search engines are not case sensitive (Shift key usage not necessary) Search engines ignore common words like: (and, a, & the) there is no need for them. To search for an exact phrase, enter it in quotation marks. When you enter multiple terms the query processor assumes you want to see web pages that contain all of your terms. The asterisk (*) is referred to as the wildcard charter.

13 Boolean Search A Boolean operator is a word or symbol that describes a relationship between keywords, –Helps you create a more focused query Ex.1 poverty and crime Ex.2 poverty and crime and gender Ex.3 cats not dogs Ex.4 cats or felines

Boolean Logic Example 1: +dyslexia +adults Example 2: radiation -nuclear

Key word Search Most search engines work with keyword queries in which you enter one or more words Ex. Mountain Bike Search results

Open your browser and go to the website below and watch: The Animated Internet: How Search Engines Work SH/animate/search.html