Describe Search engines

Rather than attempt an in-depth explanation of all the search engines and their technologies, this lesson provides a classification system that can be used to understand search engines and their technologies.

Search engines provide Internet users with an interface to the World Wide Web. As with media news, the way the information is presented often defines how the message comes across. More importantly to business are the technologies that have emerged from the evolution of search engines.
For example, searchbots have been converted to pricebots for the purpose of product price comparison. Customers can search for a product and retrieve a list of prices from a variety of offerings.

1. Searchbot: Artificially intelligent/robot technology that searches Web sites for content and categorizes it. The content is stored in a database for later recall by search engine users.
2. PriceBot: Also known as spiders, priceBOTS are search engines used for price comparisons. They actively search specific Web sites for prices on various products.

Understanding the search engine technologies and their functions can help to create an effective e-Commerce site.

1. Breadth: The number of listings provided on the subject
2. Depth: The extent of detail provided about the subject
3. Indexing: In a typical search model, a query is applied to one or more databases, and there are often indexes associated with each database that facilitate or optimize searching
4. Customizability: The ability to customize your query to pinpoint the desired results
5. Categorization: The method the search engine uses to classify search results
6. Browsability: The ease in which the user can make a decision about the usefulness of the results
7. Ranking: The process of ordering Web sites or Web pages by a search engine or a directory so that the most relevant sites appear first in the search results for a particular query
8. Relevance: How well a document provides the information a user is looking for, as measured by the user

Click the Exercise link below to match the major criteria you need to consider when looking for a Web browser.
Search Engine - Exercise