Deep Web (search indexing)

The deep web,invisible web, or hidden web are parts of the World Wide Web whose contents are not indexed by standard search engines for any reason. The opposite term to the deep web is the surface web. The deep web includes many very common uses such as web mail and online banking but also paid for services with a paywall such as video on demand, and many more. Computer scientist Mike Bergman is credited with coining the term deep web in 2000 as a search indexing term.

The first conflation of the terms "deep web" and "dark web" came about in 2009 when the deep web search terminology was discussed alongside illegal activities taking place on the Freenet darknet.

Since then, the use in the Silk Road's media reporting, many people and media outlets, have taken to using Deep Web synonymously with the dark web or darknet, a comparison many reject as inaccurate and consequently is an ongoing source of confusion.Wired reporters Kim Zetter and Andy Greenberg recommend the terms be used in distinct fashions. While the deep web is reference to any site that cannot be accessed through a traditional search engine, the dark web is a small portion of the deep web that has been intentionally hidden and is inaccessible through standard browsers and methods.

In the year 2000, Michael K. Bergman said how searching on the Internet can be compared to dragging a net across the surface of the ocean: a great deal may be caught in the net, but there is a wealth of information that is deep and therefore missed. Most of the web's information is buried far down on sites, and standard search engines do not find it. Traditional search engines cannot see or retrieve content in the deep web. The portion of the web that is indexed by standard search engines is known as the surface web. As of 2001^[update], the deep web was several orders of magnitude larger than the surface web. An analogy of an iceberg used by Denis Shestakov represents the division between surface web and deep web respectively:

...
Wikipedia