What is Wolfram Alpha?
Wolfram Alpha is based on Mathematica software and is a semantic search engine. The online service was developed by Stephen Wolfram and several hundred employees and differs fundamentally from other search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. When searching via Wolfram Alpha, the user does not simply receive a list of links, but can process facts by accessing far-reaching algorithms. Since its development, Wolfram Alpha has been able to process complex queries and therefore fulfills all the requirements of a semantic search engine. The way it works differs fundamentally from conventional search engines and is much more complex. Although Wolfram Alpha is based on Mathematica software, other sources are also used for search queries. These include, for example, commercial sources, academic websites or public authorities.
How did Wolfram Alpha come about?
The origins of Wolfram Alpha date back to 2005. Officially, Stephen Wolfram is named as the founder, but his brother Conrad Wolfram, who is also said to have played a key role in its development, is also often mentioned. In addition to the employees responsible for the technical implementation of the site, so-called data curators have also been working for Wolfram Alpha since May 2009. These data curators are ordinary experts in a specific field and from a selected region. They supply data and check the accuracy of information that is already available. In addition to these specialists, there are also so-called Preview Site Testers, who also check content and pages.
What functions does Wolfram Alpha offer?
Wolfram Alpha does not display normal hyperlinks like Google in a search query, but processes information in a more complex way thanks to Mathematica. The functional scope of Wolfram Alpha includes, among other things:
-
Search results are displayed in graphics and tables
-
Retrieve databases on chemical formulas and physical laws
-
Calculation of matrices
-
can understand algebra
-
Perform simple and complicated calculations
-
Evaluation of profiles
-
Processing of socio-demographic data
Is Wolfram Alpha relevant for SEO?
As Wolfram Alpha is not a conventional search engine that simply returns links following a search query, it is also less relevant for search engine optimization. Wolfram Alpha’s main tasks are more focused on providing scientific and official information, which is why search engine optimization on Wolfram Alpha is not a goal-oriented approach for a company. However, this does not mean that there is a possibility that this could change in the future. The complex representation of search queries and the calculation of tasks shows how far the technology has already come and it is quite possible that other search engines will also work with it in the future.
What options does Wolfram Alpha offer?
Wolfram Alpha does not work like conventional search engines using a crawler, but attempts to find a single concrete answer to a search query or command. To do this, Wolfram Alpha uses complex algorithms and databases to help present an answer or result with as few alternatives as possible.
How can Wolfram Alpha be used?
In order to deliver a concrete and correct result, Wolfram Alpha requires a system-formulated question or a defined command. If a search query is too imprecise, no useful results will be returned. The search engine is not relevant for a layperson anyway. However, the technology behind it is used by services such as Amazon Alexa or Apple’s Siri.
