Our Approach – How Google Search Works (2024)

FAQs

How does Google Search work step by step? ›

Crawling: Google downloads text, images, and videos from pages it found on the internet with automated programs called crawlers. Indexing: Google analyzes the text, images, and video files on the page, and stores the information in the Google index, which is a large database.

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

To give you the most useful information, Search algorithms look at many factors and signals, including the words of your query, relevance and usability of pages, expertise of sources, and your location and settings. The weight applied to each factor varies depending on the nature of your query.

Autocomplete predictions reflect real searches that have been done on Google. To determine what predictions to show, our systems look for common queries that match what someone starts to enter into the search box but also consider: The language of the query.

Google Search checks how content links to other content on the web as a way to find relevant search results. In addition to word matches on the page, Search uses the text in links that point to a page. For example, many people call The Keyword "the google blog".

Google's adjusted the algorithm over time, but has kept its inner workings pretty secret over the years--as anyone who relies on a secret recipe as a core part of their business (just ask Colonel Sanders and the folks at Coca-Cola).

There are three basic steps a search engine takes when searching for content: crawling, indexing, and ranking.

What is the cool Google trick? ›

The Barrel Roll

One of the most fun tricks is requesting that it perform a barrel roll, and Google will do that for you. Simply enter "do a barrel roll" in the search bar. The screen will rotate twice before returning to its starting position. It's definitely worth a look.

Most of our Search index is built through the work of software known as crawlers. These automatically visit publicly accessible webpages and follow links on those pages, much like you would if you were browsing content on the web.

Can anyone see what you search for on Google? If you've wondered “Can anyone see my search history?”, the answer is yes. The search engine itself, your web browser, your internet service provider (ISP), some advertisers, website owners, app owners, and, in some cases, authorities can see what you search for on Google.

A search engine consists of two main parts: index and algorithms. To build its index, it crawls known pages and follows links to find new ones. The aim of search algorithms is to return the best, most relevant results. Search result quality is important for building market share.

Google Search operators are combinations of words and symbols that improve your online search results. By focusing on certain keywords and excluding others, they allow you to use Google more accurately and effectively. Search operators can include: Words such as AND or OR.