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Understanding URLs and Search Engines

URLs
URLs

A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is like the address of a webpage. It tells your browser where to go on the internet. A URL is made up of three main parts:

  1. Protocol: This tells your browser how to connect to the website. For example:

    • http:// stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. It’s the standard way to access web pages.

    • https:// is the secure version, meaning your connection is encrypted for safety.

  2. Domain Name: This is the name of the website. It helps identify where the website is located on the internet. For example:

  3. Path: This points to a specific page or file within the website. For example:

Each part works together to make sure you land on the correct webpage.

Activity

Label the three parts of this URL: http://www.example.com/about-us (3 marks)

  • Protocol: ______________

  • Domain Name: ______________

  • Path: ______________



How Search Engines Work


Search engines, like Google and Bing, are tools that help you find information on the internet. Here’s how they work:

  1. Web Spiders (Crawlers): These are automated bots that travel around the internet. They look at websites and log their content into a database. This happens constantly, even when no one is searching.

  2. Indexing: The information collected by the web spiders is organised and stored in the search engine’s database. This is called indexing. Think of it like a giant library cataloging books.

  3. Search Results: When you type keywords into the search engine, it looks through its index and shows you the most relevant results. Results are displayed in the following order:

    • Sponsored Links: These are paid ads that show up at the top or side of the results.

    • Organic Results: These are regular web pages ranked by relevance and popularity.

Activity

Explain how a search engine works in two sentences. (2 marks)


Part 1 


Answers:





 
 
 

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