Search engines search the web collecting, indexing, ranking, and providing information on or relevant to any selected topic. There are basically two types of search engines: computer based crawlers and human based reviews. Some "hybrid" search engines use combinations of both of these features.
Computer based crawlers read and collect information that is later catalogued, matched, and ranked as to relevancy. Human based reviews work somewhat like review of abstracts. They are labor intensive.
Exactly how information is deemed relevant and ranked by the computer method is an industry secret of each provider. Generally, however, search engines employ an algorithm structure with a set of rules. Majorly important is the location/frequency rule. It has its short comings as demonstrated in the "miserable failure" search in Google which yielded George Bush. Computer based search engines differ as to the number of web pages they "read" and how often they are "read" and updated.
Search engines add and delete materials also based upon their popularity. Sites are guarded from manipulation by web masters.
The history of search engines and directories is a mere nineteen to twenty years old beginning with "Archie." Engines and speculation have come and gone along with fortunes as most search engines are "commercial ventures." Netscape was at one time a most popular browser with some relatively powerful search engines at the time. Google is by far the most popular search engine now.
I appreciated reading these articles. The history is short. The rate of growth and speed of acquisition is incredible. The internet never "closes up shop," never goes to sleep, never fatigues. There are a number of popular "boutique" engines for specific interests. Some of these are free, but I notice more and more that many require a member fee. In fact, a huge world of the information seems to be unavailable to the non paying "searcher." There is some concern that Google is defining the world by its algorithms. Moreover, though it employs other languages, it is an English based system which also limits its depth.
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I did the on line activity...searching myself actually before I read the articles on search engines and how they work. The first engine I searched did not have me anywhere I could find, even though it is one of the sites suggested. I thought that I was "virtually" no one. :) Then, as I searched myself on the other suggested engines, I found myself. That is when I realized there must be different methods of tracking and prioritizing information. I found the differences between the engines and the "borrowing" between the engines very interesting.
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