Search Engine Rank

What Does Search Engine Rank Mean?

Search engine rank (search rank) refers to the position a particular Web page holds in the results for a specific query. There may be many pages of results depending on the query, so the search rank refers to the specific page on which a given Web page appears as well as its position on that page. Websites want their pages to have a high search rank for a relevant query, ideally the top position on the first page of results.

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Techopedia Explains Search Engine Rank

Theoretically, the most relevant Web pages will be on the first page of results in descending order, with the most relevant appearing first, followed by increasingly less relevant pages. Less relevant Web pages will be relegated to the second, fourth, eighth or 80th page of results. Many factors play into the search rank of a given Web page, including the freshness of the content, the trustworthiness of the site, the page’s metadata and so on.

Referring specifically to Google’s search engine, the search rank and the PageRank are two distinct concepts, although a high PageRank will help sites get to a higher search rank.

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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…