Algorithms follow some rules or logic created especially for problem-solving. These are set of rules or instructions that define the work process while executing some command. Google uses algorithms for its search engines that help to understand the search queries and fetch the most appropriate answers. Besides finding the most relevant web pages, the search algorithms help to rank the search results and are crucial for SEO. Google keeps refining the search algorithms with regular updates as it continues to improve its capabilities in providing the most relevant and appropriate answers for search queries. To provide the best user experience, Google analyzes the user experience by gathering feedback from various sources and signals that form the basis of updates.
More about Google search algorithms
Since search algorithms are scientific tools, they appear universally applicable regardless of the search language. At least, that is how it should be, and Google implements its algorithms across languages except for a few ones. Generally, the algorithms can interpret the queries in most languages, as confirmed by Google. Algorithms are not singular units but are numerous smaller algorithms that act together as composite units. Most of these algorithms can interpret various languages, but there is the need to have some separate algorithms for a few other languages. Since some languages have unique characteristics, it becomes imperative to develop different algorithms for them. For example, some languages do not use spaces to separate words. In such cases, the algorithms that work for most other languages won’t work, and it is necessary to develop some unique algorithms.
What are Search algorithms?
Algorithms are problem-solving tools and derive their name from the purpose of their use. Algorithms used by search engines to interpret queries and search the database to find out the most appropriate answers are search algorithms. Search engines use different search algorithms, but mainly there are two types based on the search operations – Sequential search and Interval search.
Sequential search – This type of search involves reviewing an array of data by checking every element like in linear search.
Interval search – These algorithms have a specific design for searching in data structures already sorted. These search algorithms are more efficient than the sequential or linear search method. The search continues by repeatedly targeting the center of the search structure and dividing the search space into two halves like the Binary search.
Limitation to content translation in different languages
Since Google uses the same algorithms for different languages, it is interesting how Google determines the similarity between two pages written in two different languages. Despite all the technological tools in its armory, Google cannot find similarities between content written in different languages. It was an honest confession by Google’s Mueller. It is an area where Google cannot depend on technology but instead rely on humans to figure out the similarity of content written in different languages. Google asks content publishers to help them identify which multiple pieces of content are equivalent when written in different languages. By Mueller’s admission, Google uses href lang to determine which pieces of content are equivalent. However, he concludes that it is impossible to identify equivalent content across countries written in different languages.
Horses for courses policy
As everything has some limitations, Google’s search algorithms also have limitations, as discussed above. One size fits all approach does not work for Google search algorithms when it handles searches in different languages. Instead, Google takes a more pragmatic approach in handling searches in different languages by creating specific search algorithms for a few particular languages. It is like using horses for courses to get the best result. Luckily, there are few different search algorithms because most of the languages spoken worldwide share a standard search algorithm. Only specific languages use unique search algorithms because of the particular traits of the language that the general search algorithm, applicable for most languages, cannot handle effectively.
Unique search algorithms become inevitable to overcome the limitation of determining the equivalency of different languages.
