Search Engine Spider

What Does Search Engine Spider Mean?

A search engine spider is a program that works behind the scenes to deliver up-to-date Web search results to users through a search engine. The search engine spider can work continuously or respond to user events. Typically, the search engine spider uses specific and ordered methods to scan Web text and index pages for their search engine rankings.

Advertisements

Techopedia Explains Search Engine Spider

A search engine spider is an intangible program, but it is called a spider because of the way it works to order Web results. The spider weaves a web of indexed Web pages by analyzing the HTML and other elements on each page. Certain algorithms are used to promote a hierarchy for Web results.

The search engine spider is part of the major evolution of technology that took place during the last few decades. Along with the emergence of the Internet as a global medium handling high quality audio and video, the search engine spider is an example of applied logic that helps humans do more through the Internet. It’s also one of the utilities that helps accommodate the modern user experience of the World Wide Web as a user-friendly, accessible interface.

Advertisements

Related Terms

Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…