Web Search Fundamentals

Abstract Search engines are the new guides to information. The rapid growth of the Web has provided the information fodder for the search engine to become the single most used reference source in many developed countries. What is a search engine? How does a search engine work? How can Web site designers attract search engines? Because search engines are the source of potentially valuable information, these have become important personal, business, and research questions. The chapter offers three perspectives on the Web search engine: the searcher view on using search engines to find information, the search engine view of how search engines work, and the site designer view on how to influence search engines to find a site and the intended information and how to build a searchable Web site.