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Google Search

Google Search (also known simply as Google or Google.com) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search for information on the Internet by entering keywords or phrases. Google Search uses algorithms to analyze and rank websites based on their relevance to the search query. It is the most popular search engine worldwide.

"Google.com" redirects here. For the company itself, see Google.

Type of site

149 languages

Yes[1]

Yes

Optional

  • 1995 (1995) (first prototype)
  • 1997 (1997) (final launch)

Online

As of 2020, Google Search has a 92% share of the global search engine market.[3] By 2012, it handled more than 3.5 billion searches per day.[4]


Google Search is the most-visited website in the world. Approximately 26.75% of Google's monthly global traffic comes from the United States, 4.44% from India, 4.4% from Brazil, 3.92% from the United Kingdom and 3.84% from Japan according to data provided by Similarweb.[5]


The order of search results returned by Google is based, in part, on a priority rank system called "PageRank". Google Search also provides many different options for customized searches, using symbols to include, exclude, specify or require certain search behavior, and offers specialized interactive experiences, such as flight status and package tracking, weather forecasts, currency, unit, and time conversions, word definitions, and more.


The main purpose of Google Search is to search for text in publicly accessible documents offered by web servers, as opposed to other data, such as images or data contained in databases. It was originally developed in 1996 by Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Scott Hassan.[6][7][8] In 2011, Google introduced "Google Voice Search" to search for spoken, rather than typed, words.[9] In 2012, Google introduced a semantic search feature named Knowledge Graph.


Analysis of the frequency of search terms may indicate economic, social and health trends.[10] Data about the frequency of use of search terms on Google can be openly inquired via Google Trends and have been shown to correlate with flu outbreaks and unemployment levels, and provide the information faster than traditional reporting methods and surveys. As of mid-2016, Google's search engine has begun to rely on deep neural networks.[11]

Search results

Ranking of results

In 2013 the European Commission found that Google Search favored Google's own products, instead of the best result for consumers' needs.[29] In February 2015 Google announced a major change to its mobile search algorithm which would favor mobile friendly over other websites. Nearly 60% of Google searches come from mobile phones. Google says it wants users to have access to premium quality websites. Those websites which lack a mobile-friendly interface would be ranked lower and it is expected that this update will cause a shake-up of ranks. Businesses who fail to update their websites accordingly could see a dip in their regular websites traffic.[30]

Interface

Page layout

At the top of the search page, the approximate result count and the response time two digits behind decimal is noted. Of search results, page titles and URLs, dates, and a preview text snippet for each result appears. Along with web search results, sections with images, news, and videos may appear.[52] The length of the previewed text snipped was experimented with in 2015 and 2017.[53][54]

Universal search

"Universal search" was launched by Google on May 16, 2007, as an idea that merged the results from different kinds of search types into one. Prior to Universal search, a standard Google search would consist of links only to websites. Universal search, however, incorporates a wide variety of sources, including websites, news, pictures, maps, blogs, videos, and more, all shown on the same search results page.[55][56] Marissa Mayer, then-vice president of search products and user experience, described the goal of Universal search as "we're attempting to break down the walls that traditionally separated our various search properties and integrate the vast amounts of information available into one simple set of search results.[57]


In June 2017, Google expanded its search results to cover available job listings. The data is aggregated from various major job boards and collected by analyzing company homepages. Initially only available in English, the feature aims to simplify finding jobs suitable for each user.[58][59]

Rich snippets

In May 2009, Google announced that they would be parsing website microformats to populate search result pages with "Rich snippets". Such snippets include additional details about results, such as displaying reviews for restaurants and social media accounts for individuals.[60]


In May 2016, Google expanded on the "Rich snippets" format to offer "Rich cards", which, similarly to snippets, display more information about results, but shows them at the top of the mobile website in a swipeable carousel-like format.[61] Originally limited to movie and recipe websites in the United States only, the feature expanded to all countries globally in 2017.[62]

OR – Search for webpages containing one of two similar queries, such as marathon OR race

- (minus sign) – Exclude a word or a phrase, so that "apple -tree" searches where word "tree" is not used

"" – Force inclusion of a word or a phrase, such as "tallest building"

* – Placeholder symbol allowing for any substitute words in the context of the query, such as "largest * in the world"

.. – Search within a range of numbers, such as "camera $50..$100"

site: – Search within a specific website, such as "site:"

youtube.com

define: – Search for definitions for a word or phrase, such as "define:phrase"

stocks: – See the stock price of investments, such as "stocks:googl"

related: – Find webpages related to specific addresses, such as "related:www.wikipedia.org"

URL

cache: – Highlights the search-words within the cached pages, so that "cache:www.google.com xxx" shows cached content with word "xxx" highlighted.

@ – Search for a specific word on social media networks, such as "@"

twitter

Type of site

Multilingual

Yes

Recommended

August 20, 2012 (2012-08-20)

Discontinued features

Translate foreign pages

Until May 2013, Google Search had offered a feature to translate search queries into other languages. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land that "Removing features is always tough, but we do think very hard about each decision and its implications for our users. Unfortunately, this feature never saw much pick up".[147]

Instant search

Instant search was announced in September 2010 as a feature that displayed suggested results while the user typed in their search query, initially only in select countries or to registered users.[148] The primary advantage of the new system was its ability to save time, with Marissa Mayer, then-vice president of search products and user experience, proclaiming that the feature would save 2–5 seconds per search, elaborating that "That may not seem like a lot at first, but it adds up. With Google Instant, we estimate that we'll save our users 11 hours with each passing second!"[149] Matt Van Wagner of Search Engine Land wrote that "Personally, I kind of like Google Instant and I think it represents a natural evolution in the way search works", and also praised Google's efforts in public relations, writing that "With just a press conference and a few well-placed interviews, Google has parlayed this relatively minor speed improvement into an attention-grabbing front-page news story".[150] The upgrade also became notable for the company switching Google Search's underlying technology from HTML to AJAX.[151]


Instant Search could be disabled via Google's "preferences" menu for those who didn't want its functionality.[152]


The publication 2600: The Hacker Quarterly compiled a list of words that Google Instant did not show suggested results for, with a Google spokesperson giving the following statement to Mashable:[153]

List of search engines by popularity

Timeline of Google Search

Censorship by Google § Google Search

Google (verb)

Dragonfly (search engine)

Google bombing

Google Panda

Google Penguin

Googlewhack

Halalgoogling

Reunion (advertisement)

List of search engines

Comparison of web search engines

History of Google

List of Google products

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Official website

The Original Google!

Google search trends