Tech Explained: How does Google give you the right answers to your questions? Learn how search engines work

How does Google give you the precise answer to every question? How does it know what you want to know? In today's tech explainer, we'll answer these questions.

You're sleeping, and suddenly you wonder, "What's the coldest place in Europe?" If you don't know the answer, you immediately pick up your phone and Google it. In response to your query, Google will bring up thousands, even millions, of search results. From these results, you can not only find out the coldest place in Europe but also learn about the average temperature throughout the year and when the heaviest snowfall occurs. If you don't want to read text, Google will also show you photos and videos of the place. With just a little research, you'll know everything about that place. But how did Google know which information to show you? There are countless web pages stored on the internet, so how does Google bring up only the web pages you need? How does it know which source and video to show you? In today's explainer, we'll learn how Google and other search engines work.

How do search engines work?

As soon as you type your query into the search box and hit enter, it enters the world of bots and algorithms, which provide everything from showing you your preferred video to giving you information about a nearby restaurant you didn't even know about. Essentially, all search engines try to give you the fastest and most accurate answer to your question. To do this, they follow a multi-step process that includes crawling, indexing, ranking, and displaying results. This entire process begins after you ask your question and is completed in the blink of an eye, bringing thousands or millions of answers to your screen.

First comes crawling

The entire search result process begins with crawling. Search engine crawlers are also called bots or spiders. After understanding your question, these bots or crawlers roam the internet and collect data. These bots or crawlers visit each page individually to gather data. These crawlers examine all related web pages, discover new pages, and even keep track of changes made to older pages. They then collect all the related information again. Google's search engine works in this way. It constantly scans for updates. The crawler's job is simply to collect data and information. After this, the process moves on to indexing.

What happens in indexing?

Once the crawlers have collected data from the pages, this entire information needs to be organized. Without organizing the data or information, it becomes difficult to show relevant results to the user, which is why indexing is necessary. A search index is like a large digital library catalog. A search engine's index can contain billions of web pages. The indexing algorithm analyzes the content of each page. That is, it looks at the text, images, metadata, and inbound links on the web page. It also detects duplicate pages to prevent the index from being cluttered with similar pages. Once all the information is indexed, the ranking process begins.

How does ranking work?

When results appear on your screen in response to your query, these are not random pages. The search engine's algorithm ranks them based on relevance and authority. The pages at the top of the ranking are shown to you first, and you usually find most of the information in the results displayed on the first page. For ranking, the search engine considers keyword usage, inbound links, content freshness, mobile usability, page speed, and many other factors. In addition, rankings can fluctuate based on local search, your search history, and your device. This ranking determines which web page will be suggested to you first. Google uses tools like BERT and RankBrain for ranking, which can interpret natural language. These tools allow the search engine to understand not only keywords but also the user's intent.

Earning from Search Results

Many search engines, including Google, earn revenue from search results. If you pay attention, you'll notice that whenever you search for something in the search bar, along with the organic results, the first one or two links have "Ad" written next to them. This is a pay-per-click model, where advertisers participate in a bidding process to display their results. In other words, search engines auction off these ad placements. The advertiser's bid and quality score determine which ad is displayed first. Google alone earns billions of dollars annually through this method.