How Do Search Engines Work?

It's impossible to talk about SEO and content marketing without discussing the importance of search engines. They are the backbone of the internet after all and help us easily navigate the vast sea of online information with just the click of a button. But how much knowledge of search engines does one really need to know in order to implement a successful content marketing campaign? Below, we break down the key components of search engine crawlers to highlight the need-to-know information so you can start successfully ranking your content. Let's start at the beginning -crawling. Search engines employ sophisticated search engine “crawlers,” or bots, which regularly scan the web to find and index websites. They then determine which webpages are most likely to deliver high-quality results to a user’s search query.

What is Crawling?

A crawled page is simply a page that has been found by a crawler. In 2023, there were roughly 1.13 billion (yes, with a B) websites on the internet. This translates to roughly 130 trillion pages that Google Search and other search engines need to crawl.

It is important to note, however, that a crawled page will not necessarily show up in search results. In order to appear in the results page, the crawled page must also be successfully indexed.

What Is Indexing?

Once a page has been crawled by search engines, it will be indexed. Here, the search engine (in this case, Google) will take notes on the content of the page, flag key signals such as keywords and “freshness,” and store all that information in Google’s search index. An indexable page is a searchable page, as the content of the page has been deemed worthy enough to answer users’ queries.

To ensure accuracy and relevancy, Google will recrawl and index the pages on your site regularly. While the process is automated, you can influence how often Google recrawls and indexes your pages by adjusting settings in Google Search Console or other webmaster tools.

How Does Google Search Rank Pages?

If your web page or content has been successfully crawled and indexed by Google, then congrats, it is eligible to appear in search results! But how does Google determine which pages to display?

While Google keeps the specifics of their algorithms under lock and key, based on what they’ve mentioned and published in the past, we can glean what Google prioritizes when ranking pages.

1. The Search Intent and Meaning of the User’s Query

Before even returning results, Google must first determine what the user is searching for and the intent behind it. This sounds simple enough, but search engines have to fully understand the following to deliver best results:

• The specifics of the query: To deliver accurate results, Google will try and understand the full scope of what the user is asking, from broad queries like “how to learn astrology,” to more specific ones like “astrological meaning of sun conjunct mars.”

• Synonyms: Different search phrases can be used to seek the same result, for example, “change laptop brightness” and “adjust laptop brightness.”

• The type of information: Google will prioritize the type of content that is most in line with the user’s query. For example, if the user included the word “picture” in their search, they would be presented with Google images.It will also present results in whatever language was used in the search. 

• Location: The Google algorithm is able to identify local search intent and will display local results to the user.

• Freshness: Google presents newer content first to ensure up-to-date and accurate knowledge for users.

2. The Relevance of the Content on the Web Pages

After determining search intent, Google combs through its index to determine what pages are most relevant to the search query. At its most basic level, Google examines the keywords on a web page and sees if they match the target keyword within the search query.

Beyond that, the algorithm employs “aggregated and anonymized interaction data to assess whether search results are relevant to queries” (How Search Works, Google). Essentially, Google explores the relevance of the webpage beyond the keyword so you don’t end up with results that simply spam you with the same keyword over and over.

3. Content Quality on the Web Pages

High-quality content that demonstrates authority, expertise, and trustworthiness will rank better. A major determiner of this is the amount of quality external links, commonly referred to as backlinks, that link back to your webpage from other sites. , in addition to the presence of user-forward/ first content.

Content that is genuinely useful, informative, and engaging to users will help you receive a higher content ranking score.

4. The Usability of the Webpages

Accessible, user-friendly content will always be prioritized over inaccessible content. For example, a website with site speed, aka the amount of time it takes your webpage to load, that is mobile friendly and employs alt-text for images will do better than a website that loads slowly, is not usable on phones, and has no alt-text.

5. The Context and Setting of the User

Google will access your past search history and settings to fully understand the context behind your search and provide the most relevant results. Additionally, based on your past search queries, Google may tailor your results to pages that they believe will be in line with your interests and beliefs.

Navigating the SERP

Learning how to “read” the SERP will help you better understand your webpage’s ranking and how to build an effective SEO strategy to improve it.

For this example, let’s use the query “water bottle.”

Since we’ve searched for “water bottle,” the algorithm has determined that we are looking to purchase or compare water bottles. As such, the search page provides subgroups for the user to click on for further information.

Google will also prioritize Google ads at the beginning of the results page. These ads will be marked with a “sponsored” label and have been paid for by Google’s AdWords program.

In the side image, featured snippets provide further information that can help the user narrow their search to find exactly what they are looking for. Featured snippets aren’t paid for and are selected by the algorithm as being particularly useful in answering certain user queries.

After the featured snippets and paid search options, Google will display organic search results. If you’re not paying for Google to promote your listing, this is where your page will be displayed. Usually, a search result page will include around ten organic snippets on each page, though this number can vary. You should be shooting for the top ten on the first page when you publish content.

Is Your Content Ranking In the Top 10?

Worried that you’re not seeing the results you want? BitterRoot can help. Our content marketing professionals expertly create, optimize and distribute content that drives traffic, leads and sales. We’ll help you build a brand presence that resonates with your audience and drives results.