In response to the 20th anniversary of (let’s admit) our best friend in high school, I thought it would be a good idea to honour our dear friend Google by writing a post. Considering the evolution that I made myself throughout the years (and I am only one year and two months older than Google), I would like to go through some key elements in Google’s evolution.
Google started off as a start-up between two PhD student at Stanford University, but turned into a giant business worth $766.4 billion (May 2018). Google has therefore the third largest market value, after Apple Inc. and Amazon (Statista, 2018). But how were two students able to go from a simple search engine in the old days to the Google we know today?
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the two PhD students, started working on a structured search engine in 1996, using a PageRank algorithm which measures the importance of a website by how many times it is linked to. By making use of this algorithm, Google was more convenient than already existing players (e.g. Yahoo) who did not provide any structure. The domain name Google.com was registered on September 15, 1997.
What I would like to focus on now however, is this amazing search algorithm of Google , however the following examples are only a tip of the iceberg. In 2003 many updates ameliorated the algorithm by changing them and by decreasing spam (e.g. key word stuffing, hidden text and links between co-owned websites). In 2004, Google’s algorithm was able to understand related words and concepts. Over the next 5 years, Google was among many other things able to complete search terms and it increased indexing speed and freshness, while still decreasing spam. And many updates which they even gave names like “Panda” and “Penguin” still followed. In 2014, HTTPS/SSL would give a “lightweight” ranking boost to secure sites. In 2015, “RankBrain” Algorithm used machine learning to impact rankings. And then in 2017 there is also “Fred”, a name to cover all three updates to the search algorithm, which happen every day.
Personally I am really happy with the search results that Google has brought me and I certainly would not dump Google very soon for any other search engine. But does this mean it is too late for alternative search engines to catch up? I have looked up some alternative search engines and an article by Luke Richards (2018) showed me Bing, Ecosia (mainly based on Bing), Twitter, Slideshare and DuckDuckGo. So far they did not please me as much as Google. For example DuckDuckGo does not store any personal information, which is good for people who value privacy, but definitely has some drawbacks when you value optimised and relevant search results. I also find it hard to believe Twitter and Slideshare would replace Google. There are definitely some drawbacks to consider regarding Google, such as privacy concerns and the fact that Google is able to exploit us with targeted advertising. But for now, I am willing to take these drawbacks in order to enjoy the benefits.
References:
A Timeline Of Google Search Algorithm Updates [Infographic]. (2017, September 26). Retrieved 27 September 2018, from https://www.twinword.com/blog/timeline-google-search-algorithm-updates-infographic/
Google Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved 27 September 2018, from http://www.datesandevents.org/events-timelines/18-google-timeline.htm
No need for Google: 12 alternative search engines in 2018 | Search Engine Watch. (n.d.). Retrieved 27 September 2018, from https://searchenginewatch.com/2018/05/21/no-need-for-google-12-alternative-search-engines-in-2018/
