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Year 5

How search results are ranked

I can explain how search results are ranked.

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New
New
Year 5

How search results are ranked

I can explain how search results are ranked.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Search engine indexes can be ordered by rank.
  2. Search engines follow rules to rank results.
  3. Search engines use different criteria to rank results.

Keywords

  • Rank - the order search results appear in, based on how useful and relevant they are

  • Algorithm - a precise set of ordered steps, which can be followed by a human or a computer to do a task

Common misconception

There is no order to the results given by a search engine, it is just whichever results have been found first.

Search engines order results following algorithms or rules to move some results nearer the top of the results list.


To help you plan your year 5 computing lesson on: How search results are ranked, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Demonstrate how results in search engines change by using examples pupils will be familiar with.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the main purpose of a search engine?
to store videos online
Correct answer: to find websites based on search terms
to create websites
to delete web pages
Q2.
What does a web crawler do?
deletes unwanted websites
helps users write search terms
stores videos online
Correct answer: collects information to create a search engine’s index
Q3.
What is the catalogue where search engines store web page information?
Correct Answer: index
Q4.
Put these in the order to create an index:
1 - Web crawlers gather information.
2 - Information is stored in the index.
3 - Search engines update the index regularly.
4 - The index is used to find search results.
Q5.
Which of these is NOT a role of a search engine?
storing information in an index
finding websites
Correct answer: hosting websites
ranking results
Q6.
What happens if a search engine’s index is not updated?
It deletes old websites.
Correct answer: It shows outdated results.
It creates new web pages.
It stops working.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the order of search results called?
Correct Answer: rank
Q2.
Match the terms to their definitions:
Correct Answer:algorithm,a precise set of steps followed to complete a task

a precise set of steps followed to complete a task

Correct Answer:search engine,a tool that finds websites based on search terms

a tool that finds websites based on search terms

Correct Answer:relevance,how useful a result is, based on the search term

how useful a result is, based on the search term

Correct Answer:rank,orders results

orders results

Q3.
What does the rank of a result depend on?
the number of images on the page
the colour of the website
Correct answer: the relevance of the result
the length of the page
Q4.
What is one criterion search engines might use to rank results?
the colour of the website
Correct answer: the number of links to the page
the size of the page
the font used
Q5.
What is the role of a search engine’s index in ranking?
Correct answer: to store web page information
to delete irrelevant results
to create new web pages
to write algorithms
Q6.
Order the steps of ranking search results:
1 - A search term is typed.
2 - The search engine looks up the term in its index.
3 - Results are ranked using rules.
4 - The ranked results are displayed.