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SEARCH ENGINE
A search engine is a tool that helps users find information online by indexing and ranking web pages based on keywords. It uses algorithms to provide relevant results, making vast amounts of data easily accessible for research, shopping, entertainment, and more.
What was the first ever search engine?
The first search engine invented was “Archie”, created in 1990 by Alan Emtage, a brilliant student at McGill University in Montreal. The original intent of the name was “archives,” but it was shortened to Archie. This was before the creation of the World Wide Web, and was a search engine for FTP sites.
How do search engines help us in daily life?
AI makes our life so much easier.
How do they work?
Understanding how search engines operate is key to appreciating their role in our digital lives. This section will delve into the mechanisms behind search engines, exploring how they crawl, index, and rank content to deliver the most relevant results to your queries.
In a fast-paced world, search engines provide quick access to information, helping users make informed decisions and solve problems efficiently. Whether checking the latest news, weather, or finding solutions to everyday questions, search engines offer instant, reliable answers, keeping users informed and updated.
Quick Information Access
Search engines revolutionize learning by providing easy access to academic articles, research papers, and tutorials. Whether through Google Scholar or platforms like YouTube and Coursera, they enable students, professionals, and lifelong learners to gain new skills and knowledge from anywhere.
Educational Resources
Search engines, combined with GPS, make navigating easier by providing real-time directions, traffic updates, and local business information. They help users find nearby services and events, fostering convenience and community engagement through features like "near me" searches.
Navigation and Local Information
HOW DO SEARCH ENGINES HELP US?
Founders of Known Search Engines
Search engines are the backbone of the internet, making vast amounts of information accessible at the click of a button. Behind these powerful tools are visionary founders who revolutionized the way we search, discover, and interact with the web. This section highlights the key figures who pioneered some of the most widely used search engines, shaping the digital landscape as we know it today.
Larry Page
Co-founder of Google
Larry Page is a co-founder of Google, one of the most successful and widely used search engines in the world. Along with Sergey Brin, he developed the PageRank algorithm that revolutionized internet search by ranking websites based on relevance and popularity. Google has since expanded into a tech giant, offering a range of services beyond search.
Jerry Yang
Co-founder of Yahoo!
Jerry Yang is the co-founder of Yahoo!, one of the earliest search engines and web directories. Created in 1994 with David Filo, Yahoo! became a popular gateway to the web in the early days of the internet. Yang played a significant role in shaping the early online ecosystem through content aggregation and internet services.
Bill Gates
Co-founder of Bing
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, is behind the creation of Bing, the search engine developed to compete with Google. Known for his role in making Microsoft a global leader in software with products like Windows and Office, Gates' contributions to the technology industry extend to Bing, which powers a significant portion of web searches today.
The Search Engine
Webpages that have been discovered by the search engine are added into a data structure called an index.
The index includes all the discovered URLs along with a number of relevant key signals about the contents of each URL.
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The keywords discovered within the page’s content
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The type of content that is being crawled (using microdata called Schema)
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The freshness of the page
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The previous user engagement of the page and/or domain
The Search Engine
What is the aim of a search engine algorithm?
The goal of a search engine algorithm is to quickly provide a relevant set of high-quality results that answer the user’s query.
When a user selects a result, their activity influences future rankings. Search engines constantly crawl and index web content, analyzing not only text but also metadata, images, and links to understand context. The algorithm then evaluates factors like keyword relevance, content quality, website authority, and user engagement to rank results. Each interaction, such as a click or return to the search page, refines future search rankings, allowing the system to continually improve and deliver more accurate results over time.
The search process
What happens when a search is performed?
When a search query is entered into a search engine by a user, all of the pages which are deemed to be relevant are identified from the index and an algorithm is used to hierarchically rank the relevant pages into a set of results.
Search engines use more than just the query to return results, including:
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Location – Results may vary based on location (e.g., "cafes near me").
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Language – Results are tailored to the user's detected language.
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Search history – Previous searches influence the results shown.
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Device – Results may differ depending on the device used for the query.
Google, founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, is the world’s leading search engine, known for its fast and accurate results. It organizes vast amounts of information, making it easily accessible to users. Beyond search, Google has expanded into areas like AI, cloud computing, and mobile technology, continually shaping the digital landscape.
yahoo!
Yahoo is a web services provider known for its search engine, which was once one of the most popular online. Founded in 1994, Yahoo offers a wide range of services, including email, news, and finance. Though its search results are now powered by Bing, Yahoo remains a prominent web portal with millions of users worldwide.
Bing
Bing is a search engine developed by Microsoft, launched in 2009 as a successor to MSN Search and Windows Live Search. Known for its visually rich homepage and integration with Microsoft services, Bing offers web, image, and video search, along with features like translation and currency conversion. It powers search results for platforms like Yahoo and is the second most popular search engine globally after Google. Bing places an emphasis on user-friendly features and is also integrated into Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana.
Baidu
Baidu is the leading search engine in China, founded in 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu. It provides a range of services including web search, image and video search, and maps. Known for its dominance in the Chinese market, Baidu also offers AI and cloud computing services. Its search engine is tailored to Chinese language and content, making it a key player in China's internet ecosystem.
Yandex
Yandex is the leading search engine in Russia, founded in 1997 by Arkady Volozh and Ilya Segalovich. It offers a range of services including web search, image and video search, maps, and email. Yandex is known for its strong presence in the Russian-speaking market and provides various digital services and products, including AI technologies and cloud computing solutions. Its search engine is tailored to the Russian language and local content, making it a major player in Eastern Europe and surrounding regions.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search engine that emphasizes user anonymity by not tracking search history or personal data. Launched in 2008 by Gabriel Weinberg, it aims to provide unbiased search results without personalized advertising or data collection. DuckDuckGo offers features like instant answers, !bangs for direct searches on other sites, and a commitment to protecting user privacy, making it a popular choice for users concerned about online tracking.
Ecosia
Ecosia is an eco-friendly search engine that uses its ad revenue to fund reforestation projects around the world. Founded in 2009 by Christian Kroll, Ecosia aims to combat climate change and promote environmental sustainability. It provides standard search engine features, including web, image, and video search, while its unique selling point is its commitment to planting trees with the profits generated from user searches. Ecosia partners with various reforestation organizations to support global tree-planting initiatives.
