Search engines are software applications that retrieve information from databases.
How To Use Web Search Engines. The Spider's Apprentice. While all search engines are intended to perform the same task, each goes about this task in a different way. Factors that may influence results include the database size, frequency of updating, and the search capabilities. Search engines also differ in their search speed, the design of the search interface, the way in which they display results, and the amount of help they offer.