Search Engine Characteristics

The most popular and widely used combination of features use the WWW as a data source for text documents in HTML format and build on the realization of an index. The interpretation of the input is mostly on the basis of a simple syntax, which for instance
“ – “ can be excluded as a keyword. The world’s largest suppliers of the three search engines Google (81%), Yahoo Search (9%) and Microsoft’s Bing (5%) are working on this model.

Presentation of the results

The page where the search results are displayed to the user (sometimes referred to as search engine results page (SERP)) usually includes links to sponsors. While the latter will only be admitted for payment in the search index, all of the first search term relevant websites are listed.

User search behavior

Search engines provide access to vast amounts of information. In this regard, it can be divided into three types of search requests.

Navigation oriented
The user searches for navigational queries for specific pages, which he already knows, or from whom he believes they exist. The information needs of the user are satisfied after finding the page. These searches make up about 45 percent of all inquiries in Germany.

Information

The user is looking at a variety of informational requests for information on a particular subject area. Upon receipt of the information, the search has ended. Another works with the remains of most used pages. These searches make up about 40 percent of all inquiries in Germany.

Transactional
The user is looking at transactional requests for Internet pages, which he intends to work. These are, for example, Internet shopping, chat, etc. These searches make up about 15 percent of all inquiries in Germany.

Problems for search engines

Search engines have to deal with various problems in the operation. Ambiguity -
Queries are often imprecise. Conversely, the search engine should not be too stubborn on the entered term. It should also include synonyms, so that the Linux computer search finds pages that contain the word instead of computers computer.
Grammar -
Many possible matches are lost because the user searches for a particular grammatical form of a search term. Some search engines allow searching using wild cards, (for