Final answer:
Crawlers, also known as spiders or bots, are the software used by search engines to navigate through web pages and index them. Emphasizing web interconnectivity, search engine algorithms rank pages based on complex criteria, and users should approach results with critical thinking.
Step-by-step explanation:
Software used by search engines to navigate and index the content of websites through links present on those sites are known as crawlers. These crawlers examine webpages and follow links on these pages, much like a person would when browsing content on the web. The choice provided, crawlers, is correct.
It's important to understand that search engines do not simply list search results according to relevance or accuracy. Search engines use algorithms that include factors such as paid advertisements, popularity, and web interconnectivity. However, the specific procedural rules they follow remain largely proprietary. As a result, internet users must be savvy in discerning the reliability of search engine results and may benefit from using the SIFT technique for fact-checking and assessing the trustworthiness of sources online.