In this blog post, we’ll explore how search engines quickly find the most relevant results from among countless web pages.
Internet search engines find web pages that contain search terms and display them on the screen. Search engines use various methods that take hundreds of factors into account to determine the order in which web pages appear on the screen. The most important factors are relevance and importance. Search engines collect data from web pages and create indexes in advance to display search results quickly. An index is a list of words sorted alphabetically, which stores information such as the web pages where each word appears and the frequency of the word. The importance of each web page is also recorded.
One of the core functions of search engines is to effectively manage large amounts of data and quickly provide results related to search terms. To do this, search engines continuously use web crawlers to explore the internet and find new web pages. Web crawlers analyze the content of the web pages they find and follow the links contained in those pages to move to other related pages. Through this process, the search engine’s database is constantly updated, enabling it to provide users with the latest information.
Importance is a value that represents the importance of a web page and can be measured using link analysis techniques. In basic link analysis techniques, the value of web page A is the sum of the values received from each web page that links to A. The value received by A is then evenly distributed among the other web pages linked by A. For example, if A has a value of 4 and is linked to two other web pages, A’s value remains the same while each of the two web pages receives 2. However, the actual value received by the two web pages is the value multiplied by the damping factor. The damping factor reflects the percentage of users who do not click on a link to move to another web page while reading the web page, and it is a value less than 1. The damping factor is applied uniformly to all links. For example, if the ratio is 20%, the damping factor is 0.8, and the two web pages receive 1.6 each from A. The value obtained by reflecting all the values received through links connected to the web page is the importance of each web page. Since the links connecting web pages can change, search engines periodically update the importance of web pages.
To improve the efficiency of search engines, it is important to consider not only the importance of pages but also ways to improve the quality of page content and user experience. To this end, search engines evaluate various factors such as page loading speed, mobile-friendliness, and user interface design. These factors directly influence how useful users find search results, and search engines continuously optimize their algorithms to enhance user satisfaction.
When a user enters a search term, the search engine finds web pages that match the search term from its index. Relevance is determined by a formula that reflects the frequency of words, the number of web pages containing the words, and the number of characters on the web page. The more a search term appears, the fewer other web pages containing that search term, and the fewer characters on the current web page compared to the average number of characters on all web pages, the higher the relevance.
Search engines determine the order in which web pages are displayed on the screen by combining relevance, importance, and other factors in appropriate proportions. Additionally, search engines analyze users’ search patterns and click data to improve the accuracy and relevance of search results. For example, if a user frequently clicks on a specific web page for a particular search term, that page is more likely to be displayed at a higher rank for that search term.
This allows search engines to reflect user preferences and provide personalized search experiences.
In this way, search engines are constantly evolving to provide the best search results to users through various techniques and algorithms. These developments play an important role in improving the user experience, increasing access to information, and sharing knowledge globally. Furthermore, search engines are becoming more sophisticated in understanding the meaning of search terms and identifying user intent by integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
For example, natural language processing (NLP) technology can be used to understand context and provide users with more accurate and relevant search results. The development of search engines goes beyond simply providing information and is driving innovation in various fields. For example, in the medical field, search engines can be used to quickly find the latest research results and information on diseases, and in the education field, students can easily find the learning materials they need.
In addition, search engines provide useful data for market research and competitive analysis, supporting decision-making processes in the business sector.
In conclusion, search engines are not just tools, but play an important role in improving the accessibility and efficiency of information in modern society. This enables individuals and organizations to quickly find and utilize the information they need, ultimately contributing to the development of society as a whole.
