The History of Google
Now one of the biggest brands on the internet – and the world for that matter – it is somewhat hard to believe the humble origins of the behemoth known as Google. Beginning with the meeting of two university students who originally hated each other, Google became a story of true entrepreneurship of the greatest degree.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University in 1995 when Sergey was one of a group of students assigned the task of showing Larry around on his weekend visit from the University of Michigan. At first arguing about every topic they discussed, they found a mutual interest in solving one of computer science’s greatest dilemmas: searching huge amounts of data for relevant information. By January 1996, Larry and Sergey had begun to work on a new search engine called BackRub, so named for its ability to analyse back links that point to a web site. Within a year their search engine had started to receive a lot of interest, and by 1998, after receiving substantial investment, Google Inc was born.
Google evolved at an alarming rate, introducing their targeted advertising for business, and subsequently improving it until in 2002, with an overhaul of their AdWords package to benefit smaller businesses, AOL named Google the number one search engine and decided to utilise their search and advertising services for all of its 34 million members. For those of you who are interested, you can take a look at the way back machine to see how Google used to look when it was launched in 1998; the minimal change in its appearance belies the massive amount of change Google has undergone.
In terms of search engine marketing (SEM) there is no better way to advertise than with the company that can boast some 70% of the search engine market. Of course, increasing your website’s ranking in all search engines is always best, but utilising search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques that target Google specifically is the best way to increase your traffic. You must bear in mind of course that there are some SEO practices that will lose ranking as they are seen as flagrant cheating, such as keyword loading and purchasing links, so you must ensure you hire someone who understands SEO and online marketing well.
You don’t have to stop with SEO. Google offers a vast range of search engine marketing services from paid placement to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising with AdWords. Pay-per-click is one of the most cost effective ways to advertise, as you only pay for actual referrals and Google also has the single biggest distribution network for your adverts, making it the obvious choice for any large targeted online marketing campaign.
1 Comment »
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I have been so impressed by the vast range of services and help that Google offers the small business in terms of not only understanding how search engines work but also about optimising or building sites that wont break the bank.
When computers first landed on peoples desks it was thought a black art and now are as common and easy to use as a telephone. The internet and e-marketing is now slowly removing its shroud and becoming far more accessible. But knowing technology as I do there will be a new black art waiting round the corner.
What businesses need to do is embrace Google and the Internet as just another business tool and utilise it to its best advantage and not just because they feel they have to.
Well done to Google.
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