In our previous article, we covered an introduction to SEO. What about search engines?
Now that you have a basic idea of what SEO is, let’s dive deeper into understanding how it works and some best practices you can apply to get seen.
As a creator or business owner who wants to be discovered, it is important to understand the role of search engines. At first glance, they may seem like magical portals that instantly deliver information, but search engines are actually sophisticated tools that work tirelessly to help users find the most relevant answers to their questions.
What Exactly is a Search Engine?
A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches, digging through the internet to locate information and deliver it to users. Popular search engines include Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, and DuckDuckGo, but Google dominates, holding over 90% of the global market share. For marketers and businesses, that means optimizing for Google is usually the priority.
How Search Engines Work
Search engines follow a three-step process to find, index, and display content to users. Some of these steps are automated by certain platforms or CMSs, while others have to be done manually.
- Crawling – Search engines use automated bots, often referred to as “spiders” or “crawlers,” to scan the internet for new or updated content. They follow links from one page to another, collecting data as they go. If your site isn’t crawled, it won’t appear in search results.
- Indexing – Once a search engine bot finds content, it’s added to a vast database known as an index. The index stores all the words and their locations on each page it finds. This index is essentially the search engine’s library of information. When users search, the engine pulls from this library to provide results. Indexing is done using tools like Google Search Console and indexkings.
- Ranking – When a user enters a query(search term or keyword), the search engine sifts through its index and ranks the most relevant results based on hundreds of factors. These factors include the keywords used, website authority, user location, and even the device they’re using(More on this later).
Why Do Search Engines Matter for Your Website or Social Page?
Without search engines, users would need to type exact web addresses to find content. Difficult task, right? . By understanding how they work, you can leverage SEO strategies that help ensure your website shows up for relevant searches, bringing more traffic and potential customers your way.
Key Ranking Factors to Consider
Different search engines use almost the same criteria when ranking your content. Once you understand the general basic factors, you can apply it across multiple engines.
While there are many factors search engines use to rank content, a few crucial ones to focus on include:
- Relevance and Keywords: Pages with content closely aligned with the search query or keyword are more likely to rank higher.
- Content Quality: High-quality, well-structured content that answers user questions will get preference.
- Authority: Sites that are linked to by other credible sites, also known as backlinks, are generally viewed as trustworthy.
- User Experience (UX): Factors like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and user engagement signals (e.g., time on page) influence ranking.
The Future of Search Engines: What Does it Look Like?
Search engines are evolving rapidly, using AI and machine learning to understand context, not just keywords. Features like voice search and personalized results are becoming standard. For website owners, this means adapting SEO strategies to align with how search engines “think” today.
If you’re serious about making your website more visible, it’s time to align your SEO efforts with how search engines work. Focus on creating high-quality content, building credibility through backlinks, and optimizing your site’s user experience. Remember, while SEO is complex, taking small steps to improve will pay off over time.