How Google Search Works (in 5 minutes)

Summary

The script explains Google's search process, starting with its web mapping to create an index. It details how Google's algorithms understand user queries, sift through indexed pages, and rank results based on factors like keywords, links, location, and freshness. It also addresses Google's efforts to filter out spam and scam sites, ensuring search results are helpful and reliable. Lastly, it mentions the continuous updates to the search algorithm and the role of Search Quality Raters in evaluating these updates.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Google continuously maps the web to create an index of hundreds of billions of pages.
• 🔍 Google's algorithms try to understand user queries to provide helpful results even with imperfect search terms or spelling.
• 🏆 Ranking algorithms prioritize relevant information at the top of search results.
• 📈 Factors like word location (title, caption), linking, location, and freshness impact search result rankings.
• 🔗 The importance of linking between pages is still a significant factor in determining page relevance and trustworthiness.
• 📍 Location-based searches can yield different results depending on the searcher's geographical location.
• 📅 The recency of a web page is considered in rankings, with newer pages often being more accurate.
• 🛡 Google actively filters out spam and scam sites to ensure search results are helpful.
• 🔄 Google makes thousands of updates to its search algorithms every year to adapt to the changing web and user needs.
• 📊 Search quality is evaluated by raters who provide feedback on the relevance and reliability of search results, following public guidelines.

Q & A

What is the primary function of Google Search?

Google Search's primary function is to locate potentially relevant results on the web, remove spam, and rank them based on hundreds of factors to provide users with the most helpful and reliable information.

How does Google create an index of web pages?

Google continuously maps the web by crawling hundreds of billions of pages to create an index, which is like a giant library that Google searches through when a user enters a query.

What role do Google's ranking algorithms play in search results?

Google's ranking algorithms understand what the user is looking for, sift through millions of possible matches in the index, and assemble a page that puts the most relevant information at the top.

How does Google's algorithm handle spelling mistakes or unclear queries?

Google's algorithms are designed to be helpful even if users don't know the exact words to use or if their spelling is off, by trying to understand the intent behind the search.

What factors influence the ranking of search results on Google?

Factors that influence search result rankings include the presence and location of keywords, links between pages, the location of the searcher, the freshness of the content, and the site's trustworthiness.

Why is the location of a search important for Google's algorithms?

The location of a search is important because it helps Google provide locally relevant results. For example, a search for 'lasagna festival' in Italy might yield different results than in Nebraska.

How does the freshness of a web page affect its ranking on Google?

The freshness of a web page is an important factor, as pages published more recently often contain more accurate information, which is crucial for timely topics like developing news stories.

What measures does Google take to prevent scam sites from appearing in search results?

Google dedicates significant effort to staying ahead of scams, ensuring their algorithms can recognize and flag scam sites before they appear in search results.

How often does Google update its Search algorithms?

Google is constantly updating its Search algorithms, with thousands of updates each year, to adapt to the ever-changing web and user needs.

How does Google evaluate whether a change to its Search algorithm is helpful?

Google evaluates changes to its Search algorithms by having Search quality raters compare samples of search results and provide feedback on relevance and reliability, following a set of publicly available guidelines.

How quickly does Google typically return search results?

Google is incredibly fast, returning search results in as little as 0.81 seconds, as mentioned in the script.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 How Google Search Works

This paragraph explains the inner workings of Google Search. It starts with the daily influx of billions of queries on various topics, including questions about Google Search itself. The explanation delves into the concept of Google's index, likened to a vast library that contains hundreds of billions of web pages. The script then discusses the role of Google's ranking algorithms in understanding user intent and filtering through millions of web pages to present the most relevant results. Factors influencing search rankings are highlighted, such as the presence and location of keywords, the importance of links between pages, the searcher's location, and the recency of the web page. The paragraph also addresses the issue of spam and Google's efforts to filter out malicious sites. Lastly, it mentions the continuous updates to the search algorithm and the role of search quality raters in evaluating these updates.

05:02

📚 Search Quality Rater Guidelines

This brief paragraph serves as a call to action, inviting viewers to read the Search Quality Rater Guidelines. It suggests that these guidelines provide a public reference for what constitutes a 'good' search result and implies that understanding these guidelines can lead to a deeper comprehension of how Google evaluates and ranks search results.

Keywords

💡Index

An index in the context of the video refers to the vast database that Google uses to store and organize information about the content of billions of web pages. It's likened to a giant library that Google searches through to find relevant results for users' queries. The script mentions that Google has been continuously mapping the web to create this index, which is crucial for delivering search results.

💡Ranking Algorithms

Ranking algorithms are the processes by which Google's search engine evaluates and sorts search results to deliver the most relevant information at the top. The video explains that these algorithms try to understand what users are looking for, even if their search terms are imprecise or misspelled, and then assemble a page of results that prioritizes the most relevant information.

💡Relevance

Relevance, in this context, pertains to how well search results match the user's query. The video emphasizes Google's efforts to provide the most relevant results by considering various factors, such as the presence of search terms in page titles or captions, and the recency of the information.

💡Linking

Linking is a factor in Google's ranking algorithms that refers to how web pages are interconnected. The video mentions that Google originally used links to understand the importance and trustworthiness of pages. Today, linking remains a significant factor in how pages are ranked in search results.

💡Location

Location, as used in the video, refers to the geographical context of a search query. It's an important factor in ranking search results because it helps Google deliver results that are more pertinent to the user's physical location. For instance, a search for 'lasagna festival' might yield different results depending on whether the user is in Italy or Nebraska.

💡Freshness

Freshness indicates the timeliness of web page content. The video explains that pages published more recently are often given higher ranking in search results because they are likely to contain more up-to-date information, which is particularly important for fast-changing topics like news.

💡Spam

Spam in the context of the video refers to web pages or content designed to manipulate search results or deceive users, often for malicious purposes. Google's algorithms work to identify and exclude such content to ensure that search results are helpful and trustworthy.

💡Search Quality Raters

Search Quality Raters are individuals who evaluate search results to provide feedback on their relevance and reliability. The video describes how these raters work to assess potential updates to Google's search algorithms, helping to ensure that changes improve the helpfulness of search results.

💡Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

These are the standards that Search Quality Raters follow to evaluate search results. The video mentions that these guidelines are publicly available and serve as a guide to what makes a good search result, helping to maintain consistency in the quality of search results.

💡Updates

Updates refer to the continuous improvements and modifications that Google makes to its search algorithms. The video highlights that Google is always working on updates to keep pace with the ever-changing web and evolving user needs, aiming to make search more helpful.

💡Organized Page

An organized page, as mentioned in the video, is the final presentation of search results to the user. It's designed to neatly compile and display the most relevant and reliable information based on the user's query, making it easier for users to find what they need.

Highlights

Google continuously maps the web to create an index for search queries.

Google's index is likened to a giant library for search queries.

Google's ranking algorithms aim to understand user intent to provide helpful results.

Google's algorithms correct for spelling errors and approximate phrasing.

The location of keywords on a page is a ranking factor for Google's algorithms.

Linking between pages was a foundational method Google used to understand page importance.

Location of the user affects the search results, such as local events like lasagna festivals.

The freshness of a web page is important, especially for rapidly developing topics.

Google actively filters out spam and scam sites from search results.

Google's algorithms consider hundreds of factors to rank search results.

Search quality raters provide feedback on search results to evaluate updates.

Raters follow guidelines to ensure consistent evaluation of search results.

Rater responses are used to evaluate changes but do not directly impact rankings.

Google is always updating its search algorithms to adapt to the changing web.

One in every seven Google searches is for something never searched before.

Google's algorithms analyze search queries and match them to web content in under a second.

Google's goal is to provide organized, helpful, and reliable information quickly.

Google has a dedicated website explaining how search works in detail.

The Search Quality Rater Guidelines are publicly available for anyone to read.

Transcripts

SPEAKER: Every day, billions of people come here with questions

about all kinds of things.

Sometimes we even get questions about Google Search itself,

like how this whole thing actually works.

And while this is a subject entire books have been written

about, there is a good chance you're

in the market for something a little more concise.

So let's say it's getting close to dinner

and you want a recipe for lasagna.

You've probably seen this before.

But let's go a little deeper.

Since the beginning, back when the home page looked like this,

Google has been continuously mapping

the web, hundreds of billions of pages,

to create something called an index.

Think of it as the giant library we

look through whenever you do a search for lasagna or anything

else.

Now, the word lasagna shows up a lot on the web--

pages about the history of lasagna,

articles by scientists whose last name

happened to be Lasagna, stuff other people

might be looking for.

But if you're hungry, randomly clicking through millions

of links is no fun.

This is where Google's ranking algorithms come into play.

First, they try to understand what

you're looking for so they can be helpful even if you don't

know exactly the right words to use

or if your spelling is a little off.

Then they sift through millions of possible matches

in the index and automatically assemble

a page that tries to put the most relevant information

up top for you to choose from.

OK.

Now we have some results.

But how did the algorithms actually decide

what made it onto the first page?

There are hundreds of factors that

go into ranking search results.

So let's talk about a few of them.

You may already know that pages containing

the words you search for are more

likely to end up at the top.

No surprise there.

But the location of those words, like in the page's title,

or in an image's caption, those are factors, too.

There's a lot more to ranking than just words.

Back when Google got started, we looked

at how pages linked to each other

to better understand what pages were about

and how important and trustworthy they seemed.

Today, linking is still an important factor.

Another factor is location, where a search happens.

Because, if you happen to be in Ormea, Italy,

you might be looking for information

about their annual lasagna festival.

But if you're in Omaha, Nebraska, you probably aren't.

When a web page was uploaded is an important factor, too.

Pages published more recently often

have more accurate information, especially

in the case of a rapidly developing news story.

Of course, not every site on the web is trying to be helpful.

Just like with robocalls on your phone or spam in your email,

there are a lot of sites that only exist to scam.

And every day, scammers upload millions more of them.

So just because InstantVirusDownload.net

lists the words "lasagna recipe" 400 times,

that doesn't mean it's going to help you make dinner.

We spend a lot of time trying to stay one step ahead of tricks

like these, making sure our algorithms can recognize scam

sites and flag them before they make it to your search results

page.

So let's review.

Billions of times a day, whenever

someone searches for lasagna, or resume writing tips,

or how to swaddle a baby, or anything else,

Google software locates all the potentially relevant results

on the web, removes all the spam,

and ranks them based on hundreds of factors, like keywords,

links, location, and freshness.

OK.

Good time to take a breath.

This last part is about how we make changes to Search.

And it's important.

Since 1998, when Google went online,

people seem to have found our results pretty helpful.

But the web is always changing and people are always

searching for new things.

In fact, one in every seven searches

is for something that's never been typed into the search

box before by anyone ever.

So we're always working on updates to Search,

thousands every year.

Which brings up a big question.

How do we decide whether a change

is making Search more helpful?

Well, one of the ways we evaluate

potential updates to Search is by asking people like you.

Every day, thousands of Search quality raters

look at samples of Search results side by side,

then give feedback about the relevance and reliability

of the information.

To make sure those evaluations are consistent,

the raters follow a list of Search quality evaluator

guidelines.

Think of them as our publicly available guide to what

makes a good result good.

Oh, and one last thing to remember.

We use responses from raters to evaluate changes.

But they don't directly impact how Search results are ranked.

So there you have it.

Every time you click Search, our algorithms

are analyzing the meaning of the words in your search,

matching them to the content on the web,

understanding what content is most

likely to be helpful and reliable,

and then automatically putting it all together

in a neatly organized page designed to get you the info

you need.

All in, oh, 0.81 seconds?

Wow.

Anyone else ready for dinner?

Interested in learning more?

We've got a whole website dedicated to how Search works.

Just click right here.

Want to read the Search Quality Rater Guidelines for yourself?

Click right here.