Google Search Overview and Features
– Google Search is a web search engine available in 149 languages.
– It has a 92% share of the global search engine market.
– It is the most-visited website in the world.
– Google Search uses a priority rank system called PageRank.
– It offers customized searches using symbols.
– It provides specialized interactive experiences like flight status and package tracking.
– Users can access weather forecasts, currency conversions, and word definitions.
– It focuses on searching for text in publicly accessible documents.
– It was developed in 1996 by Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Scott Hassan.
Search Indexing
– Google indexes hundreds of terabytes of information from web pages.
– It provides links to cached versions of websites that are currently down.
– Google indexes various file types like PDFs, Word documents, and plain text files.
– Users can activate SafeSearch to filter explicit and pornographic content.
– Google only indexes less than 5% of the total Internet.
Search Algorithm Upgrades
– Caffeine Search Architecture Upgrade:
– Introduced in 2009 to improve speed and indexing infrastructure.
– No visual differences in the user interface.
– Seen as a response to Microsoft’s Bing and Wolfram Alpha.
– Resulted in 50% fresher search results.
– Medic Search Algorithm Update:
– Announced in 2018 as a broad core algorithm update targeting medical and health-related websites.
– Aimed to demote low-quality and misinformation websites.
– Many websites from various industries were negatively affected.
– Hummingbird Search Algorithm Upgrade:
– Introduced in 2013 with a focus on natural language queries and context.
– Looks deeper at content on individual pages to lead users to the most appropriate page.
– Encourages optimization with natural writing and effective on-site navigation.
Interface and Search Results
– Interface – Page layout:
– Displays the approximate result count and response time.
– Page titles, URLs, dates, and a preview text snippet appear in search results.
– Sections with images, news, and videos may also be included.
– Provides a comprehensive view of different search types.
– Interface – Universal search:
– Launched in 2007 to merge results from different search types into one.
– Includes websites, news, pictures, maps, blogs, videos, and more on the same results page.
– Expanded to cover available job listings in 2017.
– Interface – Rich snippets:
– Parses website microformats to populate search result pages with additional details.
– Provides reviews for restaurants and social media accounts for individuals.
– Introduced Rich cards in 2016, displaying more information at the top of mobile websites.
– Expanded globally in 2017.
– Knowledge Graph:
– A knowledge base used by Google to enhance search results.
– Presents information in a box to the right of search results.
– Added to Google’s search engine in 2012 and expanded internationally.
– Can answer a large portion of the monthly searches processed by Google.
– Personal tab:
– Introduced in 2017 to search for content within users’ Google accounts.
– Includes email messages and photos.
– Enhances the personalized search experience.
– Google Discover:
– A personalized stream of articles, videos, and news-related content.
– Based on users’ interactions with Google and topics they follow.
– Delivers personalized and relevant information to users.
Google Optimization and Other Features
– Google optimization (SEO):
– A field that aims to improve website rankings on Google and other search engines.
– Involves analyzing search engine listings and developing strategies to draw more searchers to websites.
– On-page and off-page factors play a role in improving rankings.
– Redesigns:
– Google introduced a new look to the home page in 2011 and changed the navigation bar.
– Yellow labels for advertisements in search results were tested in 2013.
– A new desktop search interface mimicking the mobile UI was rolled out in 2016.
– Smartphone apps:
– Google offers a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.
– Features Google Discover and a Collections feature.
– Google Go, designed for smaller and lower-spec devices, was released in 2017.
– Performing a search:
– Google Search consists of localized websites, with google.com being the most visited.
– Features include definition links, number of results, and filtering by date range.
– An Advanced Search page offers access to advanced features.
– Autocompleted search suggestions and screenshots of suggestions are provided.
– Search syntax:
– Google search accepts queries as normal text and individual keywords.
– It automatically corrects apparent misspellings and provides the same results regardless of capitalization.
– Search syntax includes site: for searching within a specific website and define: for searching definitions.
– Stocks: allows users to see stock prices, related: finds webpages related to specific URLs, and cache: highlights search words within cached pages. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Search
