How Does Google Search Work?

Google Search is the most important online platform for businesses. If you can’t be found on Google, you no longer exist for most users. So let’s take a look at how Google Search works!

Influence of Google Search

Google Web Search is the top dog among search engines and, therefore, relevant for every company that wants to sell products or services online.

4.3 million people use Google worldwide. If your business appears in the search bar, you have the chance to reach precisely these people—provided you understand how the search algorithms work to rank.

Let’s say you sell high-quality kitchen knives. When someone searches for “buy the best kitchen knives,” Google’s algorithm determines whether your shop appears among the top results.

SEO is important for this, among other things, but targeted advertising campaigns can also help you get ahead. With well-placed ads, you reach potential customers at the exact moment they are making a purchase decision. At the same time, users’ search history helps you offer personalized content and make your advertising campaigns more efficient.

Principles of Google Search

To understand how the Google search engine actually works, let’s take a look at its principles. Google Search is a system with clear principles designed to provide users with the best and most relevant results. Understanding the principles of Google Search allows you to specifically improve your content!

• Relevance: Google wants users to find exactly what they’re looking for. The algorithm analyzes content based on keywords, topics, and context. Your content must therefore be tailored to potential customers’ search queries.
• Content quality: Content that is trustworthy, informative, and well-researched is preferred. Google also considers backlinks from relevant sources and your expertise in the topic.
• User experience: Fast loading times, mobile SEO, and intuitive navigation are key factors. Companies that neglect these aspects risk slipping down in search results—even with good content.
• Transparency for advertisers: Google clearly separates organic results from paid advertising. Companies can target keywords through advertising campaigns to increase their visibility, but they do not influence the organic results.
• Diverse search results: Google delivers not only text, but also integrates images, videos, maps, and news. This allows companies to gain visibility on multiple levels, such as in image search or Google News.

The three main phases of Google search

So what happens during a Google search? The actual Google search process involves three key steps:

1. Crawling
2. Indexing
3. Display of search results

This simplified diagram gives you an overview of how Google discovers, processes, and displays websites to users. For companies committed to sustainable search engine optimization, a deeper understanding of these processes is crucial. After all, successful SEO strategies rely on detailed knowledge of how search engines work.

Crawling

When crawling, Google scans the internet for new or updated content. The search engine uses so-called crawlers (like Googlebot ) that follow links and analyze web pages. In doing so, it collects HTML pages, PDFs, images, and other content.

That’s why your website’s content must be easily accessible to crawlers. Technical hurdles like faulty robots.txt files or missing internal links will otherwise prevent Google from indexing your website. Your page’s loading speed also plays a role: Slow pages may only be partially indexed by crawlers.

Indexing

After crawling, indexing begins. This is where Google analyzes the page content and stores this information in the search index. The content structure, keywords, and context are evaluated to make it available for future searches.

To achieve this, your content should be clearly structured. This means using titles, headings, and meta descriptions wisely to demonstrate the page’s relevance to Google. Pages with duplicate content or technical errors can be excluded from the index—a major problem if this causes your content to remain invisible.

Search results

In the final step, Google delivers search results based on a search query. These results are based on a comparison between the query and the search index. Google uses complex search algorithms to display the most relevant content first. The results can be organic, advertising campaigns, local results (e.g., in Google Maps), or visual content such as images.

For your website, it’s not just technical optimization that matters, but also the added value of your content. Good content that precisely matches users’ search intent has the best chance of ranking at the top.

As an SEO agency, we help you reach your potential customers with exactly the right keywords.

Google Search ranking factors

Google search ranking factors determine which content ranks at the top of search results. Last year, a Google leak caused a stir: An internal document listed over 14,000 factors that could influence rankings. ² The leak provides valuable insights into Google’s workings and is particularly important for SEO:

• Relevance and search intent: Content must not only contain keywords but also fulfill the intent behind the search query. In addition to semantic context, content should also offer added value. Therefore, in-depth and longer texts are often preferred.
• Technical SEO of the website: Fast loading times, mobile optimization, and clean HTML code are essential. The leak revealed that technical issues such as faulty indexing or security vulnerabilities (e.g., missing HTTPS) negatively impact rankings.
• User experience: Google evaluates how users interact with your site. Factors such as low bounce rates, longer dwell times, and intuitive navigation, therefore, play a significant role.
• Backlinks and external signals: High-quality backlinks from relevant and trustworthy sources remain a strong ranking factor. The leak suggested that Google is increasingly focusing on the quality and context of the linking page—not just the number of links!
• EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trustworthiness): The document confirmed the importance of EEAT, especially in sensitive areas such as health or finance. Therefore, many companies have their content created by experts and rely on credible sources to strengthen their authority.
• Personalization and localization: Google considers users’ search history, location, and language. Local optimization (e.g., for Google Maps) and language versions for international audiences are therefore also important ranking factors.
• Long-term quality: The leak suggested that Google also considers factors such as content freshness, ongoing maintenance, and social media engagement.

Advertising in search results

With Google Search Advertising (SEA), you can significantly increase your company’s visibility. Google Ads appear above the organic search results and offer businesses the opportunity to target relevant search queries. What’s more, you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad – a model known as pay-per-click (PPC).

Let’s say you run an online sportswear store. With a well-planned advertising campaign, you can place your ads for search terms like “buy the best running shoes” or “breathable sportswear.” This way, you can reach potential customers at the exact moment they’re searching for your products.

Google Ads can also be personalized. You can target local customers, highlight seasonal offers, or even create ads specifically for mobile searches. Thanks to detailed analytics, you can understand exactly how effective your campaign is and where you can optimize.

But be careful: Success with Google Ads isn’t a given. An inaccurate keyword selection or a poorly designed ad can quickly cost money without delivering the desired results! As a Google Ads agency, we can help you target your ads correctly.

Advanced search functions

When considering how Google’s search engine works, we must also consider its advanced search features, including image search, Google Maps, and Google News. These offer additional opportunities for businesses to attract potential customers.

Google Image Search

Google’s image search is often underestimated, but it offers enormous potential for businesses that provide visual content. Users search for products, inspiration, or how-to guides. If you want to be discovered via image search, you should use high-quality images with optimized file names, alt text, and relevant keywords.

An online furniture store, for example, could specifically optimize images of its products to appear in image searches. Infographics or instructions can also play a role here and generate additional website traffic. If you’re successful in image searches, you’ll also benefit from stronger visual brand awareness!

Google Maps

Local SEO and Google Maps are relevant for local businesses. Users searching for “coffee shop near me” or “24/7 locksmith” want to find quick, relevant results in their area. A complete and optimized Google My Business listing invites new customers to your business.

As a local business, you should regularly update your contact information, opening hours, reviews, and even photos. Positive reviews and a good rating will help you gain more visibility in local results!

Google News

The Google News feature is particularly interesting for companies that regularly publish current content or news, such as blogs, press releases, or industry reports. Articles that appear in Google News often receive a high reach and can draw targeted attention to brands or products.

For content to appear in Google News, the website’s technical structure must be optimized. Clear titles, relevant keywords, and current topics that interest users are important.

Google search engine spam protection

Google continually works to keep search results free of low-quality and manipulative content. Spam protection is a central component of its search algorithms:

• Google Spam Updates: Google regularly releases updates to detect and combat spam. The “Spam Update 2023,” for example, aims to better detect link spam, irrelevant content, and manipulative practices like keyword stuffing.
• Quality guidelines: Content that is misleading, plagiaristic, or overly promotional will be penalized by Google. Therefore, you should only publish valuable, well-researched, and unique content.
• Spam detection: Google relies on AI-powered systems to automatically detect spam. These algorithms analyze millions of pages to detect suspicious patterns. This includes fraudulent practices such as fake reviews or links to spam sites.
• Manual actions: In addition to automated systems, Google also relies on manual reviews. Websites that repeatedly violate guidelines can be manually penalized.
• User-centricity: Pages that focus on user needs are less susceptible to penalties. High-quality content and clear navigation ensure your page isn’t classified as spam.

Google Search with AI features

How will Google Search evolve? Google has been using AI models like BERT and MUM for several years to better process search queries and deliver personalized results. Another example is the new AI Overview feature, which Google is already testing in some countries.

AI-generated summaries are displayed on the search results page, aggregating the most important information from various sources. Users thus receive a concise overview without having to search through each source.

This presents both opportunities and challenges for companies. On the one hand, high-quality content may gain greater attention, while on the other, direct traffic to their own website could shrink.

The increasing integration of AI into Google Search means that traditional search engine optimization still works and also contributes to AI SEO, but it needs to be thought through further. The large amount of AI-generated content is shifting the focus to content quality, structure, and semantic relevance. Companies that respond to these trends can secure their visibility in the long term.

Become visible with Google Search.

Google Search allows you to reach your target audience online and drive traffic to your website. However, many companies lack the necessary experience with SEO and Google Ads. Therefore, landing coveted positions in search results can be a real challenge.

As experienced search engine optimization experts, we understand the challenges and opportunities that Google search presents. We can help you make your business visible and reach potential customers. Feel free to contact us for more information and a personalized consultation!

Frequently asked questions about Google Search