Weird and Wonderful Web Words

Search Engine
The words themselves are not so odd, when compared to 'blog' or 'reverse DNS entry', but search engines are confusing.

A search engine is supposed to scan everything posted on the Internet, index it based on recurring common phrases (key words) and allow you to look up relevant web pages. Therefore if use Google.com or MSN.com, you can type the phrase 'Vancouver hotels' and obtain results that differ between the two search engines. In addition, the results vary from one day to the next as web pages change.

There is a search engine called dogpile.com that searches search engines and gives a collection of results.

To confuse things more, companies pay to have key words listed at the top. For example, on MSN.com, sites that appear on the first page of results normally have bid to be there. When you click on the link, the web site is charged a fee.

So, search with care, and shop around to other search engines.

Have a term you want explained? Email Robert@quokkasystems.com

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