Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

My name is Mrs. Jenkins.

I can't wait to learn with you today.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit "Introduction to Computer Systems." Today's lesson is called "How Search Results Are Influenced." By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to recognise why the order of results is important and to whom.

Before we begin today's lesson, we have three keywords.

These words will appear throughout the lesson, so it's really useful to know what they mean before we get started.

The three words are index, rank, and limitations.

So index is the location of items or elements in a list, array, or string.

Rank is the order search results appear in based on how useful and relevant they are.

Limitations are something that restricts what is possible or prevents something from working perfectly.

So those three words again are index, rank, and limitations.

Keep your eyes out for them throughout the lesson.

In today's lesson, how search results can be influenced, there are two learning cycles.

The first describe how search results can be influenced, and the second recognise limitations of search engines.

We're going to begin with describe how search results can be influenced.

Search engines use programmes called web crawlers to create an index of the web.

A web crawler is a programme that visits websites and adds information about them to the search engine's index.

By using a web crawler to create an index, the search engine does not need to search the entire internet when something is typed in.

The search engine looks at the index to find the best results quickly.

Laura asks, "How do search engines decide to order results?" Great question.

Search engines use an algorithm, which is a set of rules, to decide rankings.

It is not in random order.

Websites use SEO, which is Search Engine Optimization, to help search engines notice them and show them nearer the top of the list.

Jacob says, "Search engines are free to use, so how do they make money?" That's a great question, Jacob, because while search engines are free to use, they still need to make money.

Search engines make money on their listings.

The search term was guitar.

What do you notice about this listing? Some of the top results appearing in a search are paid adverts or sponsored results.

They will have a label to say Ad or Sponsored.

One way search engines make money is through advertising.

Websites can pay to have their links show up at the top of search results as sponsored results.

These results look similar to normal search results, but usually say Ad, short for advert, or Sponsored next to them.

Sponsored results are paid by companies so they appear at the top.

Other results appear below them and are ranked by relevance.

Search engines earn money when people click on ads or sponsored links.

Okay, let's have a little check in.

Which of these is a way that search engines make money? A, they charge users to search? B, they sell computers? C, they display sponsored results and adverts? Or D, they ask for donations? Have a go.

How did you get on? I asked you, which of these is a way that search engines make money? A, they charge users to search? B, they sell computers? C, they display sponsored results and adverts? D, they ask for donations? The answer was C.

Search engines make money by displaying sponsored results and adverts.

Great job.

Some search engines may also rank results based on where you are.

This is dependent on the settings on the device you are using to search.

This can be helpful if you're trying to find something nearby or local to you.

Jacob asks, "Are there any other ways that search engines make money?" Search engines also make money from targeted ads, which are adverts based on what you have searched for; tracking user behaviour, using data about past searches to show adverts; and business services.

Some search engines sell tools to companies to help them appear higher in the search results.

Great question, Jacob.

He has asked, "Does everyone see the same results?" Search results are not the same for everyone.

They can be influenced by your location, your past searches, and your language settings.

True or false? Everyone sees the same search results when they search for the same thing.

Have a go.

How did you get on? I asked you, true or false? Everyone sees the same search results when they search for the same thing.

The answer is false.

Search results change based on location, past searches, and settings.

Great job.

We're going to move onto our first task now.

We're going to be thinking about the searching process.

How do different people affect the search result? So we have the searcher, the search engine, and the web page creator.

How did you get on? I asked you to think about the searching process.

How do different people affect the search results? So I asked you to think about the searcher, the search engine, and the web page creator.

So the searcher can affect results by choosing what to search and clicking on links.

The search engine can affect results by ranking pages and showing adverts.

The web page creator can affect results by using SEO and buying adverts.

Great job.

Let's move on to learning cycle two.

Recognise limitations of search engines.

While search engines are really helpful for finding information, there are some limitations to using a search engine.

Sam asks, "Is every page on the internet found on the World Wide Web?" No, Sam, not everything can be found on the World Wide Web.

Search engines can only find web pages that are indexed.

Some information, such as private data or offline content, would not appear in search results.

Which of the following statements about search engines is true? A, search engines can find everything on the internet.

B, search engines only show results from their index.

Or C, search engines search the entire internet every time you type something.

Have a go.

How did you get on? I asked you which of the following statements about search engines is true.

A, search engines can find everything on the internet.

B, search engines only show results from their index.

Or C, search engines search the entire internet every time you type something.

And it is B, search engines only show results from their index.

Some words can have more than one meaning, which can give confusing results.

If you search the word jaguar, it could search for any of the following: a car brand, a big cat, or a sports team.

Laura says, "I like to play football at the weekends." Sam says, "I like to play soccer at the weekends." Different countries or different areas of a country may use different words for the same thing.

This can also affect the results shown.

Not everything that is available online is true.

Information can also become out of date.

Some websites can share false information or might not be regularly updated.

And Laura says, "Are all websites available on search engines?" Great question, Laura.

Not all websites are indexed.

This means they do not show on search engines.

These can include private databases such as medical records and member- only websites.

True or false? A search engine can find every single page on the internet.

How did you get on? I asked you, true or false? A search engine can find every single page on the internet.

The answer is false.

Some pages are private or hidden from search engines.

We're going to move on to task B.

You are going to look at the three following scenarios and answer the questions below about each scenario.

A, what is causing the problem? And B, how could they improve their search to find better results? Scenario one.

Your friend searches for apple, but they only find results about Apple computers, not the fruit.

What is causing the problem? How could they improve their search to find better results? Scenario two.

Your friend searches for bat.

The results show sports equipment instead of the animal.

What is causing the problem? How could they improve their search to find better results? Scenario three.

Your friend wants to find their grandma's old blog post, but it doesn't appear in the search results.

What is causing the problem? How could they improve their search to find better results? Okay, how did you get on? Let's go through it.

Our first scenario.

Your friend searches for apple, but they only find results about Apple computers, not the fruit.

What is causing the problem? Well, the search engine doesn't know if you mean fruit or technology.

How could they improve their search to find better results? They could use more specific terms such as apple fruit, and that should give them a better search result.

Scenario two.

Your friend searches for bat, but the results show sports equipment instead of the animal.

What is causing the problem? The search engine doesn't know if you mean animal or cricket bat.

So how could they improve their search to find better results? They could add more keywords such as bat animal to their search.

The last scenario, scenario three.

Your friend wants to find their grandma's old blog post, but it doesn't appear in search results.

What is causing the problem? The blog might not be indexed or it might have been removed from the internet.

How could they improve their search to find better results? Try searching for the blog's name or specific phrases from the post.

Great job, everyone.

Well done.

You have worked so hard in today's lesson.

Let's summarise what we have learned.

Search engines make money through advertising.

Websites can pay to have their links show up at the top of search results as sponsored results.

These results look to normal search results, but usually say Ad, short for advert, or Sponsored next to them.

While search engines are really helpful for finding information, there are some limitations to using a search engine.

Great job, everyone.

You've worked so hard today.

I can't wait to learn with you again soon.