SegIndexer / Tiers

The SegIndexer decides how quickly and how expensively Google indexes a page. Google does not index all pages equally fast or equally cheaply. The SegIndexer assigns each page to a 'tier' (level) of the index, from expensive, lightning-fast servers for important pages to slower, cheaper storage for rarely needed pages. A high tier rank means the page is quickly available when queries arrive.

scaledSelectionTierRank, a rank value between 0 and 32,767. It reflects a mix of demand (how often is this page searched?), authority and storage economics.

scaledSelectionTierRank = a rank value that decides which index tier (storage level) a page is placed in. 0-32767 is the technical 16-bit maximum, a finely resolved rank scale and not a quality value in itself. [B field, C tier logic]

Authority is indirect: being worth indexing correlates with authority but does not judge content quality. The system is a 'gate' before the actual ranking. Pages that are not in the fast tier appear more slowly in search results.

For sites with thousands of pages: weak pages occupy tier capacity that more important pages need. Active content pruning (removing or improving weak pages) frees up capacity and improves indexing efficiency for the pages that matter, such as time-critical reports that must land in the fast tier.