Internet search engines help many Internet users find the information they need. Within seconds, they provide data that in most cases cannot be found without them.

Among all the available pages, search engines find the ones that most closely match the keywords we enter. There are few people today who have not heard of Google or Yahoo, but most of us have no idea how they work or where they get their results.

The basics of an Internet search engine

Below are the most important terms related to search engines.

• Robot indexer - synonymous with "spider". It is a "program" whose task is to read the content of a page, analyze its content and HTML code. The spider follows the links placed on the website (they are both internal and external links) and appears on both brand new and old pages. A page that has not yet been visited by the robot is not indexed, i.e. it is not included in the search results.
• Index - is a list of headlines and short passages with links to pages that contain information relevant to our query.
• Database - is the set of all websites indexed by the robots. When websites are visited, the indexing robots create a huge database that is constantly updated as new pages appear, and these, in turn, are updated with new subpages.
• Search program - The search engine program is a very complex algorithm that analyzes thousands of factors that influence the value of a given page for a given phrase. Based on these criteria, the program determines the position of the page in the index for a given query - a key phrase.

The most important functions of search engines

First of all, search engines allow us to get to the information that Internet users are looking for. Search engines also offer search suggestions so that we can better form our opinions.

They are becoming more and more accurate, thus speeding up the process of using Internet resources. We can not only search the entire Internet, but also specify a specific query, for example, about a certain city.

Search engines are also useful in the field of online marketing, as they allow, among other things, to:

• Achieve a competitive advantage - getting a high position in the search engine rankings increases the chances of getting a customer who is looking for a given product or service.
• We can advertise at a relatively low cost - reaching a selected market of recipients looking for specific products or services.
• Brand awareness on the Internet increases and creates a positive image.

What affects the position of a page in the index?

We don't know all the elements that influence the final evaluation of a website by a search engine. The search algorithm is also constantly evolving. Nevertheless, there are factors that can undoubtedly affect the position of a website in the search results.

Among others:

• page content - in order for a website to rank high in the search engine rankings, the content must respond to the queries entered in the search engine;
• website structure - keywords should be in different places (for example, in headings, paragraphs);
• keywords in the page title - meta title;
• keywords in the domain name and address;
• external links - not only the number of these links is important here, but also their importance - linking, the value of the page on which the link is placed;
• outbound links - links to other websites;
• internal link - a link to other subpages on this website;
• the date of domain registration and its history;
• keyword density - keywords and their synonyms should appear on the page, but they should be placed naturally, excessive keyword saturation is called spam;
• systematic posting of relevant content;
• recommendation of the site to social media users - sharing content via social media sites such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter is playing an increasingly important role.

What reduces page position?

• Copy content from other pages and create duplicate content.
• Frequent server failures.
• Links to other pages that have very low search engine rankings.
• Spamming is the use of an excessive number of keywords, especially in content that is not related to the keywords inserted.

How to use search engines to promote your company on the Internet?

• It is realistic to focus on achieving the highest possible page position in the index for key phrases by increasing the content of the website and increasing external links. We can also use external companies to help with website positioning.
• We can also invest in advertising links that are optimized for specific phrases, which will result in this entry. Promotional links are a form of paid advertising in the CPC model.

How to search for information effectively?

You should specify the password you are interested in. Every stylistic and spelling mistake works to our disadvantage - because it misleads the search engine. Fortunately, the search engine often suggests the correct, corrected phrase.

Queries should be as brief, specific, and accurate as possible. Search engines allow you to narrow down the results of a query to a specific website. Knowing the principles of website positioning makes it easier to find specific content on the Internet.

Is it possible to cheat search engines by positioning a page?

You can try to do this, but the effect will be unfavorable. Many people and even companies offering website positioning services use methods that do not comply with Google's recommendations, which sooner or later ends up in a very unpleasant way for the website. If Google detects such tricks and gets better at it with each subsequent algorithm update, the page receives a temporary filter and its position in the index is significantly reduced until the detected discrepancies are corrected, and in critical cases it is completely removed from the index.