Search Engine
Definition
A website that helps you find information on the internet by typing keywords. Like a librarian who can instantly find any book or information you need.
Use Cases
- Google: Web search for finding websites, images, news, and answers using keywords. — Operates a large-scale web crawler and indexing system that continuously discovers pages, builds an index, and ranks results using many signals; results are served through google.com with specialized verticals like Images and News. (Enables fast discovery of information across the public web for billions of queries per day, supporting users and a large advertising-driven business.)
- Microsoft (Bing): Web search and image search integrated into Microsoft products and partner experiences. — Crawls and indexes the web, then ranks and serves results through bing.com and integrations in Microsoft ecosystems (e.g., Windows search experiences and partner syndication). (Provides an alternative web search engine and powers search experiences across Microsoft and partner platforms.)
- Yahoo: Consumer web search experience for finding websites and information. — Provides a search portal and user experience that sources web search results from a search technology partner rather than operating a fully independent web index end-to-end. (Offers a familiar search destination and content portal for users while leveraging partner infrastructure for core web search results.)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What's the difference between a search engine and a web browser?
- A web browser (like Chrome, Edge, or Safari) is the app you use to access websites. A search engine (like Google or Bing) is a website/service you use inside a browser to find pages by typing keywords. The browser displays pages; the search engine helps you discover which pages to visit.
- When should I use a search engine?
- Use a search engine when you need to discover information you don’t already have a direct link for—such as finding a company website, researching a topic, comparing products, locating documentation, or looking up images, news, and local businesses.
- How much does a search engine cost?
- For most people, public search engines are free to use. They are typically funded by advertising and other business models. Costs may apply indirectly (for example, businesses paying for ads, or developers paying for APIs or enterprise search products), but basic searching on the public web usually has no direct fee.
Category: software
Difficulty: basic
Related Terms
See Also