Search engine

A search engine is a <a href="/facts/Software_system/mglVMfTA">software system</a> that provides <a href="/facts/Hyperlink/LqNsa84e">hyperlinks</a> to <a href="/facts/Web_page/5JK7xQLe">web pages</a>, and other relevant information on <a href="/facts/World_Wide_Web/wvnTrWFq">the Web</a> in response to a user's <a href="/facts/Web_query/xY17HbzT">query</a>. The user enters a query in a <a href="/facts/Web_browser/2pfyymLs">web browser</a> or a <a href="/facts/Mobile_app/r7vp6meo">mobile app</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Search_engine_results_page/tpmnjUDa">search results</a> are typically presented as a list of hyperlinks accompanied by textual summaries and images. Users also have the option of limiting a search to specific types of results, such as images, videos, or news.
For a search provider, its <a href="/facts/Software_engine/QhIAMMBg">engine</a> is part of a <a href="/facts/Distributed_computing/o5nyhqTF">distributed computing</a> system that can encompass many <a href="/facts/Data_center/DS5wJY41">data centers</a> throughout the world. The speed and accuracy of an engine's response to a query are based on a complex system of <a href="/facts/Search_engine_indexing/a0anbq3D">indexing</a> that is continuously updated by automated <a href="/facts/Web_crawler/ra7D1xyb">web crawlers</a>. This can include <a href="/facts/Data_mining/AH53q5ac">data mining</a> the <a href="/facts/Computer_file/FjFH3Ufm">files</a> and <a href="/facts/Database/VYcpkevb">databases</a> stored on <a href="/facts/Web_server/A4GS6thA">web servers</a>, although some content is <a href="/facts/Deep_web/wV8VXBkR">not accessible</a> to crawlers.
There have been many search engines since the dawn of the Web in the 1990s, however, <a href="/facts/Google_Search/LFnCogKt">Google Search</a> became the dominant one in the 2000s and has remained so. As of May 2025, according to StatCounter, Google holds approximately 89–90 % of the worldwide search share, with competitors trailing far behind: Bing (~4 %), Yandex (~2.5 %), Yahoo! (~1.3 %), DuckDuckGo (~0.8 %), and Baidu (~0.7 %). Notably, this marks the first time in over a decade that Google's share has fallen below the 90 % threshold. The business of <a href="/facts/Website/SAsjJnca">websites</a> improving their visibility in <a href="/facts/Search_results/SRntsbz2">search results</a>, known as <a href="/facts/Search_engine_marketing/eXmAwcKY">marketing</a> and <a href="/facts/Search_engine_optimization/RNzIbb62">optimization</a>, has thus largely focused on Google.

Search engine open-in-new

Search engine