Search Engines

Understanding how search engines work, Google in particular, is important when working in SEO. The basics of crawling and indexing are amazingly useful to understand if you want to rank your own content.

Additionally, Google updates its algorithm several times a year. Understanding the more significant updates, and how they work, can help you to craft content and SEO strategies that are up-to-date.

We've written extensively about how search engines work, and included some of the top resources here. You can also browse the latest posts on search engines from the Moz blog below.

How Search Engines Work : New to SEO? Start with the basics of how search engines operate with our free beginner's guide.

Search Engine Ranking and Visibility : Learn the fundamentals of how search engines rank content on search engine result pages.

Google Algorithm Update History : A complete history of Google algorithm updates since 2000. This includes important links and references for understanding how Google works.

How Search Engines Value Links : Search engines work off a number of signals, but two of the most important are content and links. In this video, Rand Fishkin explains the basics of link evaluation.

MozCast : Is Google updating it's algorithm as we speak? MozCast is the Google algorithm weather report, so you can see how much Google results are changing each day.

Most Recent Articles on Search Engines

Hey Googs, Where You Goin' With All That Knowledge?
M

Hey Googs, Where You Goin' With All That Knowledge?

Search Engines

As search engine marketers, many of us spend a good chunk of our time studying Google's moves. We see the progress being made in GMaps, GAnalytics, GChrome, GDesktop Search, etc., and while we tip our hats to Google for developing wave after wave of innovative ideas, there's always that slight undercurrent tickling our feet and keeping us aware of Google's exponentially increasing stockpile of the world's most valuable commodity: information.

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Search Is Changing Forever, Rand :).
Gabriel Goldenberg

Search Is Changing Forever, Rand :).

Search Engines

With every tweak and change that Google brings to its search result pages, the "potential-ROI" balance on search tips ever more towards PPC and away from SEO. I realized this when I read Aaron Wall's Marketing Lessons from Google. Search marketing leaders demand results, so it's irrelevant that the means of practicing SEO remain the same. What is relevant is that Google is decreasing the ability of SEO to provide stable, measurable results. As Aaron points out in his post, Google seeks to undermine competing business models.

Why a Google Monopoly is Bad for Search Marketers
Rand Fishkin

Why a Google Monopoly is Bad for Search Marketers

Search Engines

When search marketers get together at a pub and talk, the conversation inevitably turns to Google's near-monopolistic share of web search. For many of us that are new to the field, Google has always been the market leader and the focus of most of our efforts. But historically, this wasn't the case. Have a look from a historical perspective: ...

Google's Faster Crawl Rate: No Thanks
Casey Henry

Google's Faster Crawl Rate: No Thanks

Search Engines

Recently I was working with a client and I decided to do a little experiment, because sometimes I have nothing better to do. I wanted to know whether changing the crawl rate in Google’s Webmaster Tools really made a difference. Part of me felt Google just put it there to make people feel that Google will come to their site more often, but part of me wanted to trust Google.

Google Resellers Spamming Google SERPs?
David Iwanow

Google Resellers Spamming Google SERPs?

Search Engines

This post starts out with a simple enough research exercise while watching a DVD. I have realised that I need to focus more around link building as per one of the last blog posts I read on SEOmoz.org. So I begin researching using Linkscape to begin to understand my how some of my competitors are outranking me in particular key phrases.

Is Google's Yo-Yo Effect the Evidence of a New Algo ?
F

Is Google's Yo-Yo Effect the Evidence of a New Algo ?

Search Engines

I decided to write this post because starting from April '08 to today, there have been more and more frequent cases of yo-yoing SERPs. But it's not the first evidence of Google's yo-yo on a big scale. Here in Italy Michele De Capitani realized and studied Google's yo-yo effect from 2007 and called it "sine waves". In 3 articles Michele explains very well how he discovered this destructive effect by monitoring different Google data centers for different websites.

SEO Company Search Results - An Embarrassment to Google and the Other Engines
Rand Fishkin

SEO Company Search Results - An Embarrassment to Google and the Other Engines

Search Engines

One of the central goals of all the major search engines has always been to limit the extent to which manipulative activity could affect the top search results. It's been my general opinion that there's no better place to start this enforcement than our field - search engine optimization - and the SEO companies that offer this service. It was therefore to my dismay to see the following search r...