The Evolution of a Google Query

Most people know that a search engine provides users with relevant search results to their search queries, however not everyone understands how search engines do this. Below details how Google delivers their search results.

1. The web server sends the query to the index servers. The content inside the index servers is similar to the index in the back of a book – it tells which pages contain the words that match the query.

2. The query travels to the doc servers, which actually retrieve the stored documents. Snippets are generated to describe each search result.

3. The search results are returned to the user in a fraction of a second.