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| Search Engine Glossary |
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All Word query - A search that will retrieve only web pages containing all of the words that have been entered in the search box. The main search engine and news search engine of iWon are automatically programmed to make your search an all word query. Algorithm - This is the program a search engine uses to add web pages to the index, and the logic that is applied to retrieve the most relevant web pages for keyword searches. Each search engine has its own set of algorithms that are designed to find the most relevant web sites for your search. Boolean - A word which, when capitalized, can be used within searches to provide for more specific search results. The Boolean words that will work with iWon search are: AND, NOT, OR, and NEAR. Clustering - A feature of the iWon Search engine that avoids duplicate results from appearing among matching web pages. By limiting only one result for each web page, we are able to provide you with a better variety of web site results. Technically speaking, clustering rules apply only to web pages with unique domain names, so if a web page has more than one domain name, you may occasionally see the same web page appear twice in your search results. Dead Link - A search result that leads to a page that has moved, or to an error page. Search engine indexes are typically refreshed every 3-4 weeks. This means that when a site is moved or taken down, it could take a few weeks for the search engine to recognize this and remove the site. Description - Text found below the title of a matching web site that describes the content of that web page. This description is composed by the web site builder and not by the search engine. Document - A web page that contains news or other content that is relevant to your search. Domain - A top-level category of a web site address. The most common domains for U.S. based web sites are .com (commercial), .net (network), .org (organization), and .edu (educational). Other domains include .gov (government), .mil (military), and .int (international organization). Websites that operate outside of the U.S have country specific top-level domains. For example, websites based in the United Kingdom would carry the domain .uk and websites based in Canada would end in .ca Filter - An advanced search tool that allows you to set rules to narrow your search. The iWon Advanced Search page includes a word filter. Hits - The total number of matching web sites that are found by the search engine. You will see this number at the beginning of the Matching Web Sites section of our main search results page, where the first ten results are displayed. Index - In the context of a search engine, this is the database of web pages that is maintained by the search engine. When you type in a search, the keywords are matched against all the documents in the index, with the most relevant matches being returned and displayed for you. Inktomi - Company that provides secondary results for the main search engine of iWon. Internet Keywords - Powered by RealNames, these are words or phrases that link directly to one matching web page. Oftentimes when you search for a particular web site or brand, you will see a link toward the top the main search results page, which is the Internet Keyword associated with your search. Keywords - These are the words that you type into the search box. Link - A line of text that connects the search result to the web page, category, or other feature being presented. For Matching Web Sites, the link to the website will always appear first, above the web site description and location. Location - This is the field below the web page description that displays the web page URL. You can click on either the web page title or location to go directly to that page. Metaword - Words that when included, provide more restrictive searching. These specify web page characteristics that you wish to locate or exclude from your search. Moreover - Company that, along with Inktomi, powers the Matching New Articles section of iWon Search. Natural language - A type of search that uses either questions or complete sentences to retrieve web pages or other information. You can use natural language using the iWon Fact Finder. MP3 - The most popular audio file format on the Web, producing high-quality sound. MP3 files can be played on most computers that are equipped with a standard audio player. Phrase search - A type of search that allows you to find only web sites that contain your search terms in the exact order that you specify. To execute a phase search, use quotation marks around your keywords. (Example: "population of Rome") Popularity - Method of ranking web sites that measures the number of inbound links to sites as well as the amount of time people spend on these sites. The Top 10 sites section of iWon Search provides results that are ranked by popularity. Query - A group of keywords that, along with other information, is used to locate web pages from a search engine. This is usually more simply referred to as a search. Ranking - The position or order of search results, usually determined by relevancy. The first ranked web site for a particular search is generally the most relevant. Matching News Articles are ranked according to a combination of relevancy and recency. RealAudio - A prevalent audio file format that is accessible through the iWon MP3/audio search engine. RealAudio files are most compatible with the RealPlayer media player. Relevancy - The extent to which a web page or other search result relates to or is associated with your search. Search term - A word that, along with other words, is entered into a search box to comprise a query. Spider - Search engine program that scans several thousand web pages per day, and transfers information about these web pages to the search engine index. Sponsored Listings - Sponsored Listings are paid search results made available by third party providers of pay-for-performance listings. These providers review each Sponsored Listing to ensure its relevance to your search request. You will find Sponsored Listings immediately below the iWon Spotlight on your first page of search results, and then along the right column of subsequent results pages. (If there is no iWon Spotlight on the first results page, Sponsored Listings will appear at the top of that page.) Stemming - An advanced Search feature that allows you to search for all variants of your search terms. For example, a search for the word run will retrieve web pages that contain any of the words run, running, runner, etc., when word stemming is turned on. Stop words - Words that are very commonly used and that search engines are programmed to ignore when used in searches. These are usually very general terms such as of, and, a, the, in, for, on, and many other common words. Ignoring these words allows the search engine to focus more closely on your other keywords. Submission - A process by which information on a web page is sent to a search engine, for the purpose of being listed among search results or within a directory category. Title - The name of a web page as determined by the web site builder. The title of a web page is the first line of text that appears with a search result. When clicked on, this title will link you directly to that web site. URL - An address that identifies the location of a web page or other document on the Internet. Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. |