Google LLC formerly Google Inc. (1998-2017), is an American search engine company, founded in 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, a subsidiary of the holding company Alphabet Inc.
More than 70% of the world’s online search requests are answered by it, which puts it at the heart of most Internet users’ experience. Its headquarters are in Mountain View, California.
To understand how the internet giant reached its peak, it is essential to take an interest in its history. This retrospective gives an idea of the approaches to be put in place to develop your online presence and succeed in ranking first on Google .
The Google story : the beginnings thanks to an encounter
It was born in 1995 following the meeting of Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Both students in Computer Science at Stanford University in the United States, they decide to combine their knowledge and skills to create a search engine.
Formerly BlackRub, the name was changed in 1997 to make way for “Google” .
Why did you choose this term? The two students were inspired by 10 to the power of 100. “ Googol” or “ Gogol” is an excellent base according to the founders. This name coincides with the idea of creating software with the ability to index a large amount of information.
However, following a spelling mistake, Googol turns into Google.
They thus bought the domain name on September 15, 1997.
The logo
The search engine logo has evolved significantly during its history.
A necessary evolution that marks the history of Google
The adventure begin. But the ambition of these two students has no limit. Without financial means, no one really believes in their project to create a unique search engine. Only Professor David Cheriton will decide to invest 200,000 dollars in their company. globalwebhealth
Thanks to this financial contribution, Larry Page and Sergey Brin meet Andy Bechtolsheim from Sun Microsystems. Convinced by their innovative idea, he only hesitates a few minutes before helping them with a check for $100,000.
The year Google was founded on September 4, 1998.
The growth of the search engine
Google’s story continues in a rental garage . It is less than a year later, in February 1999, that the company really begins to grow since it will count eight employees.
Faced with this rapid growth, the two students decided to move to the Mountain View district in California. It is still today the world headquarters known as the Google plex.
Many changes follow each year:
- June 2000: collaboration with Yahoo!
- October 2000: implementation of the first Adwords service
- December of the same year: installation of the search toolbar, directly on the browser. Internet users no longer need to go to the site to carry out a search.
- 2001: Éric Schmidt becomes Chairman of the Board of Directors then CEO of the company .
- 2002: development of Google News and Shopping (formerly known as Froogle)
- 2004: the search engine counts more than 6 billion connections and 800 employees
- In August 2004: he entered Wall Street with an action at 85 dollars
- 2005: creation of Maps and Analytics
- 2006: appearance of Trends
- In July 2008 : one trillion unique URLs are indexed
- A month later, the company creates its own browser called Chrome
- 2011: Google opens offices in France
- 2018: launch of Google Pay
Every year, the internet giant continues to surprise Internet users. Their will ? Create new features. thewebdevs
The stock market valuation in 2019 is $711.19 billion. Today they employ 85,000 people.
On December 4, 2019, student founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided to leave Google’s parent company. According to them, the current CEO, Sundar Pichai, is doing a wonderful job.
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More search engine statistics
It is a powerful and leading company in its field. Read this article on Google numbers and statistics and better realize its weight in the digital world.
How to explain the success?
Google is not the only search engine that exists. Many alternatives to Google exist , however, it occupies a leading position worldwide and no competitor has yet managed to compete even slightly.
The strength of the search engine algorithm
The Google search engine is a great tool for consumers thanks to its algorithm. Made with secret codes, it has the power to index hundreds of thousands of pages while sorting.
Thus, when a person performs a search, only relevant and qualitative results are presented. Fast, it differs from other search engines. Indeed, at the time, Google differed from AltaVista and Wanadoo thanks to the quality of the information presented.
According to specialists, given the number of pages indexed on this search engine, 2 billion lines of code are used. 25,000 engineers check them daily.
The importance of working conditions
Google is a dynamic and relaxed company. Beyond prestige, the working conditions offered motivate people to apply. Indeed, they receive hundreds of thousands of resumes every day.
How to explain this enthusiasm? The Google Plex headquarters has all the dream salary conditions:
- Sports halls
- Self-service healthy food
- Drinks offered
- Scooters and bikes
- Restaurants
- Hairdressers
- Bankers
- Doctors
- Massage rooms
- Games and relaxation rooms
- nurseries
- Free Shuttle…
Everything is in place to facilitate the daily lives of employees so that they feel good in their workspace. But above all, this strategic approach enables workers to be efficient.
With all these measures, the company tends to be a different company from those present in the market.
The employees
When Google went public, 1,200 employees became millionaires thanks to stock options.
To hope to work in this company, you must speak at least 3 languages and pass an average of 9 interviews.
All the services offered: the essentials of Google’s history
From Google Video to YouTube
Essential for finding written content, Google also allows you to search for images and video content. Video was first launched to allow Internet users to access their favorite programs.
In June 2006, it began offering premium content for free. However, to ensure that the videos are free, they impose advertisements.
With all of these approaches and marketing benefits, Google can’t quite top YouTube’s success. This platform is quickly becoming the favorite site for users to watch videos. Some have attracted millions of viewers.
Faced with this success, Google bought YouTube in 2006 for 1.65 billion dollars. But it wasn’t until 2012 that Video shut down. All the videos present are transferred directly to the YouTube site.
Gmail
In 2004, began offering free webmail. This service, known as Gmail, is accessible from 2007. Its use offers several advantages:
- An independent email address
- 7 gigabytes offered
- Enhanced security thanks to the acquisition of the Postini messaging company in 2007 and the implementation of the encrypted Gmail HTTPS protocol
Google Books
Even before the company Google was created, the two students Larry Page and Sergey Brin had studied digital book projects belonging to Stanford. With their boundless ambition, they wanted people to be able to search for content in books.
The first approach was made through Print in 2004. The digitization of books is done using sophisticated equipment. For all books protected by copyright, only an extract is presented to interested Internet users. Given the scale of this project, the name was changed to Google Books in 2005.
In 2012, this new Google platform accounted for more than 15 million pounds.
Google Earth
In 2004, Google bought Keyhole Inc. This company developed an online mapping service that the company renamed Earth in 2005. With this tool, users can find detailed satellite images of places on Earth. Many details are available:
- Street names
- Weather situation
- Crime statistics
- Cafe locations
- real estate prices
- Population densities with maps created by Google Earth.
Beyond informing Internet users, this powerful tool saves lives, particularly following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Google Apps and Chrome
In 2006, Google introduced Apps, an application software hosted by Google. Users can find the Calendar calendar, Google Talk instant messaging and Google Page Creator which is a program for creating web pages. To access these free tools, users must watch advertisements and store their data on Google’s equipment.
To go further in their proposal, the company buys between 2006 and 2007 a word processor, a spreadsheet and a presentation software united under the name of Google Docs.
A year later, the Chrome browser is unveiled.
These different developments fueled the war between Microsoft and Google.
android
Google ‘s entry into the phone market came with the purchase of Android Inc. in 2005 .
But the company does not stop there since it creates the Open Handset Alliance, an association of several companies in the field of mobile telephony, such as Intel Corporation, Motorola, Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, Texas Instruments Incorporated, LG Electronics, Inc., Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel Corporation and T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom).
The first Android phone is the Mobile G1 unveiled in October 2008.
In 2010, Google entered into direct competition with Apple’s iPhone by creating the Nexus One smartphone.
They then accompanied all the evolutions with the development of tablets.
Google+
Google has been slow to recognize the success and potential of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
The company decided to create Google Buzz in 2010 and then Google+ in June 2011. Less than a year after its launch, it has attracted more than 170 million users.
Nevertheless, Facebook already had a monopoly. The gradual closure was therefore announced on October 9, 2018.
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Google Ads
Google’s financial results prove the rapid growth of internet advertising. The analyzes carried out show that the success is explained by the abandonment of traditional media such as radio, newspapers, magazines and television.
In order to propel online advertising, Google’s history is marked by the purchase in 2003 of Applied Semantics, the creator of AdSense, a service that allows various types of advertisements to be displayed on their web pages.
To go further, Google has invested in other companies: Marc Broadcasting, advertising rights on MySpace.com , DoubleClick, the AdMob mobile advertising network, etc.
All of these purchases are part of Google’s efforts to shift its search engine business into advertising.
How to contact Google?
We have grouped together in this article all the ways to get in touch with Google and its various services. The departments are numerous and depending on the needs, it is not always easy to contact them by email or telephone.
Why is it profitable for your company to be in first position in Google?
Google is the most important source of information in the world. The search engine records more than 2000 billion annual requests. Faced with this popularity and the constant presence of Internet users, being in first place on Google is an advantage that should not be overlooked.
According to studies carried out, a site first on Google receives more than 50% of the traffic.
If you want to develop your online presence, consider implementing an SEO strategy.
The controversial web leader Google
Faced with so much success and the impressive history of Google, the company has to face a lot of criticism. Its web monopoly is criticized for many reasons:
- Copyright infringement .
- No privacy measures and ignorance of European data protection laws
- The PageRank system is considered undemocratic
- Practice of tax evasion in Europe
- Censorship of content on the internet
- Lack of neutrality
The history of Google is punctuated by several developments and innovations. A pioneer, the company’s objective is to offer unique and useful tools.
