February 17 is a significant day in the history of search marketing. Today marks the day that Google, the world’s biggest search engine, was incorporated in 1998. In the two decades since, Google has become the internet’s most important search tool, a major force in the technology scene and an omnipresent influence in our lives.
Search Marketing Before Google
Before Google took its place as the king of search engines, a number of other search tools existed. The earliest search engines relied on manually entered data. This was a tedious and time consuming process, and was soon replaced by algorithmic search tools. AltaVista and Excite were two of the earliest algorithmic search engines, and they allowed users to search the internet in a way that had never been possible before.
The Birth of Google
Google officially launched on September 4th, 1998 and immediately revolutionized the search engine industry. It was the first search engine to use an algorithm that took into account the number of times a web page was linked to, giving more weight to web pages with more links. This meant that pages which had more relevant content were more likely to be ranked higher in the search results, as opposed to pages with less relevant content.
Google’s Impact on Internet Search
The impact of Google on search engine optimization (SEO) cannot be overstated. SEO is a technique used by website owners and marketers to ensure that their websites are more likely to appear higher in the search engine results pages. SEO is a big business, and has been in the spotlight since Google first revolutionized the search industry.
Google’s Algorithm Updates
Google’s algorithm has changed many times since its inception. Updates such as Panda and Penguin have had a huge impact on the search industry, and continue to shape the way that SEO is done. For example, Panda punished websites that had duplicate or low-quality content, while Penguin focused on backlinks and link spam.
Google’s Other Services
In addition to search, Google also offers a range of other services, such as Google Maps, Google Adsense and Google Analytics. These services have allowed website owners to track their website performance and generate revenue through advertising.
Conclusion
February 17 marks a significant day in search engine history. It marks the day that Google was incorporated, and changed the internet as we know it. In the two decades since its inception, Google has gone from strength to strength, becoming the world’s most important search tool and an omnipresent force in our lives.
