What is the origin of Google?

It begins with the origin of the web. The web is basically a network of HTML documents (web pages). The web is an interconnected set of links. Web pages are the intersection points on the web and are accessible due to advancements in infrastructure. The demand for a search service arose to make interacting with the web more practical. The first innovation involved web directories. Web directories enhanced visibility for relevant web pages but were administered similar to Wikipedia and Reddit, by volunteers and admins. This was much too difficult to maintain as the business scaled and an automated solution was needed. On September of 1997 two Stanford students registered google.com and it was the first successfully marketed web-crawling search engine. Previous web-crawling engines didn't escape the university.

How does Google work?

A web crawler called Googlebot aka spider, "crawls" the web constantly and stores the current web page in google's search database. There is a GoogleBot Images and Video as well. The PageRanking algorithm determines the ordering of links a user sees on google's search engine results page. It sorts content from most to least relevant based on a set of factors. These factors aim to determine a page's quality by it's interfacing, speed, information, backlinks, among other things. These factors are constantly evolving along with the algorithm. Google makes money through Google AdWords, now Google Ads. This lets advertisers (businesses) link ads to keywords with a pay-per-click model where the bidding advertisers pay Google to be linked to keywords, and another payment cost for each click. This model changed the landscape for digital marketers and online businesses.

How has Google changed the web?

Google is the front page of the web thanks to their ever increasing influence. Apps like Chrome expanded Google's reach. Google accounts for well over 80% of internet searches. Everybody uses Google and I use it everyday.

What are the cons of Google?

Struggle for visibility. Search engine optimization implications. Centralization of data on the web because certain internet domains crush SEO like Reddit and Quora. This SEO pivot is a concern requiring resolution.

What are the pros of Google?

The ecosystem works seamlessly and they also have diverse list of products: news, finance, trends, arts, earth, etc. My favorite is Lens. These products are powerful and make using the internet greatly beneficial for users to learn about the world.

Search engines you didn't know existed:

dogpile.com

looksmart.com

metacrawler.com

lycos.com

duckduckgo.com

Summary:

Google is not perfect and their search function is facing major issues that need addressing. They are also facing new threats with the rise of AI chatbots and are battling ongoing trial for monopolistic practices. The fate of google is unknown but their services are highly valuable to it's users and the internet.

Links:

https://www.duncanjonesnz.com/history-of-ppc-marketing/

https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/google-search-pp/45340551

Thanks for reading!