Search engine

What is a search engine?

A search engine is an online system that scans the web, stores pages in an index and shows the most relevant results for a search query. Well-known examples are Google and Bing. How a search engine ranks pages decides whether your website is found by people searching for what you offer.

Why is a search engine important?

• An important source of visitors: many customers start their search in a search engine.
• Own rules: every search engine has its own algorithm and guidelines.
• Opportunity for small businesses: good content can rank high without an ad budget.

Examples of a search engine

• Google
• Bing
• DuckDuckGo and Ecosia, which partly use results from other search engines
• Search functions inside YouTube and Amazon

How does a search engine work?

A search engine works in three steps: crawling (finding pages), indexing (storing and understanding them) and ranking (showing the best pages for a query). Make sure your site does well in all three (SEO).