Does Google index search results pages for other search engines?
-
I've noticed a lot of backlinks to sites consist of SERPS from other search engines that Google. A link to a query like: http://searcheninge.com/?q=apple for instance. Does Google index these links and do they give any value?
Regards,
Henrik
-
1. Does google index these links?
In order for Google to index a page it needs to be able to crawl it. Crawlers are not able to activate functions on websites like 'search' or 'submit' buttons. Pages that you can only get to by submitting information cannot be indexed.
For example, if you enter a competition online, very often you will need to enter your name and email address and click "Submit". You are then sent to a page that says 'thank you for entering'. This is an example of a page that will never be indexed, unless somebody links directly to it. (and its not blocked by robots.txt, but that's another story)
In the same way, the crawlbots cannot do a search on Yahoo and then index the results page. The only way Google can index these pages is if somebody saves the SERP URL and then links to it from somewhere that the googlebot can index.
So the answer is yeah, Google indexes some of these pages, but only a small few of them.
2. Does Google give any value to them?
As Ronan said, search engines are just like any website, so their pages are just like any pages. It's unlikely that a SERP has a lot of inbound links (unless it's a particularly hilarious/interesting SERP) so the value of their link juice is unlikely to be very high.
Let me know if any of that doesn't make sense and I'm happy to clarify - reading back it is quite heavy!
-
Hi Henrik,
Yes, Google will index all the pages it crawls on the internet unless it is told to "noindex", the value of the link is the equivalent that Google would give to any website which is based on it's own algorithm.
After all, a search engine is just another website.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
URL Parameter for Limiting Results
We have a category page that lists products. We have parameters and the default value is to limit the page to display 9 products. If the user wishes, they can view 15 products or 30 products on the same page. The parameter is ?limit=9 or ?limit=15 and so on. Google is recognizing this as duplicate meta tags and meta descriptions via HTML Suggestions. I have a couple questions. 1. What should be my goal? Is my goal to have Google crawl the page with 9 items or crawl the page with all items in the category? In Search Console, the first part of setting up a URL parameter says "Does this parameter change page content seen by the user?". In my opinion, I think the answer is Yes. Then, when I select how the parameter affects page content, I assume I'd choose Narrows because it's either narrowing or expanding the number of items displayed on the page. 2. When setting up my URL Parameters in Search Console, do I want to select Every URL or just let Googlebot decide? I'm torn because when I read about Every URL, it says this setting could result in Googlebot unnecessarily crawling duplicate content on your site (it's already doing that). When reading further, I begin to second guess the Narrowing option. Now I'm at a loss on what to do. Any advice or suggestions will be helpful! Thanks.
SERP Trends | | dkeipper0 -
Site "Internal" Search Full-Text Indexing vs. Manual Tagging
I’m looking for recommendations on how to power site search in an efficient way. Ideally, I would like to get recommendations on platforms, tools, trends, technology and resources. This discussion does not really refer to SEO or site search optimization. It is more related to the technology used to power site search. I would like to get an idea on the differences between full-text indexing site search and site search that requires manual tagging.
SERP Trends | | burnseo0 -
Are there any clear, significant differences between Google SEO and Yahoo/Bing SEO?
I have a client who is very focused on getting ranks in Yahoo! Convincing him that focusing on Google is much more important isn't going to happen. He uses Yahoo! He ranks very well in Google, and his site is relatively well-made with no glaring on-page issues. His backlink profile is also not an issue. I'm trying to find ways to rank specifically for Yahoo! since we're ranking well in Google and the client cares a ton about Yahoo! I know Yahoo! uses Bing's algorithm, but results aren't identical in the two engines. Does anyone know of big, glaring difference in the two algorithms that would result in great Google ranks, but almost non-existent Yahoo! ranks? I have him in Bing webmasters, his local SEO and citations are good, his backlink profile is good, and his on-page is decent.
SERP Trends | | WilliamKammer0 -
How google identify that web page was updated and want to index again?
How Google robot identify that these many pages were updated on particular web site?
SERP Trends | | ankit.rahevar0 -
Is the search volume insight in Bing more accurate as it is in Google?
Does anybody know if Search volume insight in Bing is more accurate than it is in Google?
SERP Trends | | Seeders
Moz is showing Search Volume insight in Bing now (not sure about the reason, probably Moz has no access to Google? Or is it because it is more accurate?)
For some words I have my doubts about the Google Keyword Tool. I don't know about Bing.
For the first time I compare two words on Bing with Google I found out the ratio in Bing is very different compared with Google. Example:
When you check out the words: espressomachine and koffiemachine
**Google, local search in the Netherlands: **
espressomachine: 6600
koffiemachine: 8100
Bing, local search in the Netherlands:
espressomachine: 549
koffiemachine: 361 So..., are Bing users typical kind of users who uses other search phrases?
Or... is one of these two more accurate? Does anybody know?0 -
Search Volume Data for iTunes App Store?
Ok, so maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places, But where can I get good search volume data for searches done in iTunes app store? Or is this something that Apple just doesn't share?
SERP Trends | | TheSEOWiz0 -
Usage of the new Google quick flight search application
Hello I m interested in some first data or studies about how often the new google quick flight search application is used/clicked compared to the organic or ppc results. Would be awesome, if anybody knows more about it thx 5766285218_b588a1eb4e_z.jpg
SERP Trends | | Aris0