I do that (searching from the address bar) a lot, especially with non-US sites (like Ryanair) where you're not sure if it's .com or .co.uk or what.

True. But even with very few links, I suspect ryanair.com would come up high for a search for "ryanair". They get a bonus for an exact domain match. So no matter what they will probably come up high for searches for "Ryanair"