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CONTENTS

1. Introduction2. Search Terminology3. Search Engine Databases4. Search Engine Ranking Algorithms5. Search Tools and Services5.1. Through Directories5.2. By using Spiders or Robotsi. Search servicesii. Search sitesa. Search Directoriesb. Search Engines6. How Search Engine Works?

6.1. Search engine components6.2. Keyword Based Searching6.3. Concept Based Searching7. Information on Meta Search Engine 8. What are Meta Search Engines? 9. Conclusion

SEARCH ENGINES

Introduction:

The Web is potentially a terrific place to get information on almostany topic. Doing research without leaving your desk sounds like a greatidea, but all too often you end up wasting precious time chasing downuseless URLs. Almost everyone agrees that there’s going to be a better way! But for now we’re stuck with making the best use of the search toolsthat already exist on the Web

If you’re ore interested in broad, general information, the first placeto go is to a Web Directory. If you’re after narrow, specific information, aWeb search engine is probably a better choice.Searching by Means of Subject DirectoriesThink back to the library card catalogue analogy. In the old cardfiles, and even in today’s computer terminal library catalogues, you findinformation by searching on either the author, the title, or the subject. Youusually choose the subject option when you want to cover a broad range of information.

Example:

You’d like to create your own home page on the Web, but youdon’t know how to write HTML, you’ve never created a graphic file, andyou’re not sure how you’d post a page on the Web even if you knew howto write one. In short, you need a lot of information on a rather broadtopic--Web publishing.Your best bet is not a search engine, but a Web directory like Yahoo.Yahoo is a subject-tree style catalogue that organizes the Web into 14majors topics, including Arts, Business and Economy, Computers andInternet, Education, Entertainment, Government, Health, News,Recreation, Reference, Regional, Science, Social Science, Society andCulture. Under each of these topics is a list of subtopics, and under each of those is another list, and another, and so on, moving from the more generalto the more specific.

Example:

To find out about Web page publishing from yahoo, select theComputers and Internet Topic, under which you find a subtopic on theWide World Web. Click on that and you find another list of subtopics,several of which are pertinent to your search: Web Page Authoring, CGIScripting, Java, HTML, Page Design, and Tutorials. Selecting any of thesesubtopics eventually takes you to Web pages that have been posted precisely for the purpose of giving you the information you need.Web directories usually come equipped with their own keywordsearch engines that allow you to search through their indices for theinformation you need.

Important note:

More and more search engines are incorporating Webdirectories into their sites. These directories interact with the main searchengine on the site in various ways. See Excite, Infoseek and Lycos, evenAlta Vista--they are no longer “just a search engine.” They are nowcharacterizing themselves as Web portals or hubs -- places where peoplecome to on the Web to get information about a multitude of subjects, andeven to chat, send email and form online communities.

Search Terminology

Here are a few common search-related terms you should knowabout.

Search tool

Any mechanism for locating information on the Web;usually refers to a search or metasearch engine, or a directory.

Query

Information entered into a form on a search engine’s Web page that describes the information being sought. Note that a query isnot usually phrased as a question.

Query syntax

A set of rules describing what constitutes a legalquery. On some search engines, special symbols may be used in aquery.