Chapter 2: How Search Engines Work

2xx status codes

A class of status codes that indicate the request for a page has succeeded.

4xx status codes

A class of status codes that indicate the request for a page resulted in error.

5xx status codes

A class of status codes that indicate the server's inability to perform the request.

Advanced search operators

Special characters and commands you can type into the search bar to further specify your query.

Algorithm

A process or formula by which stored information is retrieved and ordered in meaningful ways.

Backlinks

Or "inbound links" are links from other websites that point to your website.

Bots

Also known as "crawlers" or "spiders," these are what scour the Internet to find content.

Caching

A saved version of your web page.

Caffeine

Google's web indexing system. Caffeine is the index, or collection of web content, whereas Googlebot is the crawler that goes out and finds the content.

Citations

Also known as a "business listing," a citation is a web-based reference to a local business' name, address, and phone number (NAP).

Cloaking

Showing different content to search engines than you show to human visitors.

Crawl budget

The average number of pages a search engine bot will crawl on your site.

Crawler directives

Instructions to the crawler regarding what you want it to crawl and index on your site.

Distance

In the context of the local pack, distance refers to proximity, or the location of the searcher and/or the location specified in the query.

Engagement

Data that represents how searchers interact with your site from search results.

Google Quality Guidelines

Published guidelines from Google detailing tactics that are forbidden because they are malicious and/or intended to manipulate search results.

Google Search Console

A free program provided by Google that allows site owners to monitor how their site is doing in search.

HTML

Hypertext markup language is the language used to create web pages.

Index Coverage report

A report in Google Search Console that shows you the indexation status of your site's pages.

Index

A huge database of all the content search engine crawlers have discovered and deem good enough to serve up to searchers.

Internal links

Links on your own site that point to your other pages on the same site.

JavaScript

A programming language that adds dynamic elements to static web pages.

Login forms

Refers to pages that require login authentication before a visitor can access the content.

Manual penalty

Refers to a Google "Manual Action" where a human reviewer has determined certain pages on your site violate Google's quality guidelines.

Meta robots tag

Pieces of code that provide crawlers instructions for how to crawl or index web page content.

Navigation

A list of links that help visitors navigate to other pages on your site.

NoIndex tag

A meta tag that instruct a search engine not to index the page it's on.

PageRank

A component of Google's core algorithm. It is a link analysis program that estimates the importance of a web page by measuring the quality and quantity of links pointing to it.

Personalization

Refers to the way a search engine will modify a person's results on factors unique to them, such as their location and search history.

Prominence

In the context of the local pack, prominence refers to businesses that are well-known and well-liked in the real world.

RankBrain

The machine learning component of Google's core algorithm that adjusts ranking by promoting the most relevant, helpful results.

Relevance

In the context of the local pack, relevance is how well a local business matches what the searcher is looking for.

Robots.txt

Files that suggest which parts of your site search engines should and shouldn't crawl.

Search forms

Refers to search functions or search bars on a website that help users find pages on that website.

Search Quality Rater Guidelines

Guidelines for human raters that work for Google to determine the quality of real web pages.

Sitemap

A list of URLs on your site that crawlers can use to discover and index your content.

Spammy tactics

Like "black hat," spammy tactics are those that violate search engine quality guidelines.

URL folders

URL folders: Sections of a website occurring after the TLD (".com"), separated by slashes ("/").

URL parameters

Information following a question mark that is appended to a URL to change the page's content (active parameter) or track information (passive parameter).

X-robots-tag

Like meta robots tags, this tag provides crawlers instructions for how to crawl or index web page content.