---
title: "5 Reasons Why Enterprise Search Is Not Comparable to Google"
url: https://lookeen.com/blog/5-reasons-why-enterprise-search-is-not-comparable-to-google
lang: en
description: "Is Enterprise Search Comparable to Google? The 5 Biggest Differences Between Web Search and Internal Enterprise Search. Learn More Now!"
author: "Fiona Allan"
published: 2015-03-31T09:38:09+00:00
modified: 2026-11-11T06:44:46+00:00
---

# 5 Reasons Why Enterprise Search Is Not Comparable to Google

Most of us are very familiar with one search engine: Google. It has become normal to type every term and question into Google and receive the web pages that best cover our search. “Why can’t this also work on the desktop?” many users therefore ask. Here are 5 reasons why these two search methods are so fundamentally different.

## 1\. Google Searches Web Pages, Enterprise Search Searches Documents

[The best alternative for Google Desktop Search – Find out more here!](https://lookeen.com/solutions/desktop-search/desktop-search)

Let’s stick with the introduction, because that’s where we already have the first major difference: Google has a different focus than enterprise-wide search. [Documents must be searched completely differently](https://lookeen.com/blog/desktop-search-helps-classify-company-data) than web pages, simply because searches must cover many more file formats.

## 2\. Google Allows Few Restrictions

Since the correct document is most likely not among the first ten search results, we must restrict the results in enterprise-wide search. Similar to how it works on Amazon – only with information such as department, brand, modification date, etc.

## 3\. Inbound Links Are Rare in Companies

Google ranks web pages based on their links from external sites. This is not possible with Enterprise Search due to the lack of such links. Here, popularity and click proximity to the intranet’s homepage are better indicators.

## 4\. Google Expects SEO Optimization

For Google, the matter is simple: Either the page is optimized and structured according to SEO strategies, or it is demoted. Within companies, things look different, as most users are not aware that titles, file names, or even keywords could be important. Here, education and established processes are indispensable to avoid having to rely entirely on algorithms.

## 5\. Google Searches for the Anonymous Public, Confidential Documents Are Not an Issue

In companies, everything revolves around security. Programs, systems, and documents are not freely accessible to everyone and require passwords. Depending on the permissions granted, users thus have access to different things – and that too must be taken into account in search.