Google Search

This article is about the search engine. For the corporation, see Google; for the underlying technology, see Google platform; for other uses see Google (disambiguation).

Google search

Google Search homepage. The main page of Google search on a Macintosh computer.
Developer(s)	Google Inc.
Available in	multilingual (~100)
Type	Search Engine
License	Freeware
Website	www.google.com

Google is a search engine owned by Google, Inc. whose mission statement is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". The largest search engine on the web, Google receives several hundred million queries each day through its various services. The last reported figures were 2.5 billion queries each day as of February 2004, up from 3 million queries per day in September 1999 and 10,000 queries per day in November 1998.

The search engine

PageRank

Main article: PageRank

Google uses an algorithm called PageRank to rank web pages that match a given search string. The PageRank algorithm computes a recursive figure of merit for web pages, so to speak, based on the weighted sum of the PageRanks of the pages linking to them. The PageRank thus derives from human-generated links, and correlates well with human concepts of importance. Previous keyword-based methods of ranking search results, used by many search engines that were once more popular than Google, would rank pages by how often the search terms occurred in the page, or how strongly associated the search terms were within each resulting page. In addition to PageRank, Google also uses other secret criteria for determining the ranking of pages on result lists.

Search Results

Google not only indexes and caches HTML files but also 13 other file types, which include PDF, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Flash SWF, plain text files, among others. Except in the case of text and SWF files, the cached version is a conversion to HTML, allowing those without the corresponding viewer application to read the file.

Users can customize the search engine somewhat. They can set a default language, use "SafeSearch" filtering technology (which is on 'moderate' setting by default), and set the number of results shown on each page. Google has been criticized for placing long-term cookies on users' machines to store these preferences, a tactic which also enables them to track a user's search terms over time. For any query (of which only the 32 first keywords are taken into account), up to the first 1000 results can be shown with a maximum of 100 displayed per page. Yes, indeed.

Advanced Search Operators

Google's searches are not limited to reporting back indexed pages corresponding to the search query. A variety of advanced search operators can be used to perform more sophisticated queries. Some examples are included below:

• link: <URL> - returns the pages linking to the specified URL.
• site: <URL> - restricts the returned hits to a specific website
• define: <query> - returns Google glossary definition for the query term
• info: <URL> - returns information about the queried site.
• filetype: <filetype> - restrict the results of the search to a particular filetype extension e.g. doc, txt, jpg.
• related: <URL> - returns similar / related websites

A full listing of Google's advanced operators can be located here .

Non-Web Sources of Data

Despite its immense index, there is also a considerable amount of data in databases, which are accessible from websites by means of queries, but not by links. This so-called deep web is minimally covered by Google and contains, for example, catalogs of libraries, official legislative documents of governments, phone books, and more.

Google optimization

Since Google is the most popular search engine, many webmasters have become eager to influence their website's Google rankings. An industry of consultants has arisen to help websites raise their rankings on Google and on other search engines. This field, called search engine optimization, attempts to discern patterns in search engine listings, and then develop a methodology for improving rankings.

As Google's algorithms and results have gained the trust of web users, commercial websites will profit from subverting these results by artificially inflating their rankings. Some search engine optimization firms have attempted to inflate specific Google rankings by various artifices, and thereby draw more searchers to their client's sites. One of Google's main challenges has been to weaken some of these attempts by reducing the ranking of sites known to use them.

Search engine optimization encompasses both "on page" factors (like body copy, title tags, H1 heading tags and image alt attributes) and "Off Page Optimisation" factors (like anchor text and PageRank). The general idea is to affect Google's relevance algorithm by incorporating the keywords being targeted in various places "on page", in particular the title tag and the body copy (note: the higher up in the page, the better its keyword prominence and thus the ranking). Too many occurrences of the keyword, however, cause the page to look suspect to Google's spam checking algorithms.

One "Off Page Optimisation" technique that works particularly well is Google selling in which websites link to another site using a particular phrase in the anchor text, in order to give the site a high ranking when the word is searched for.

The Google webmaster guidelines were published for website owners who would like to raise their rankings when using legitimate optimization consultants.

Uses of Google

A corollary use of Google — and other Internet search engines — is that it can help translators to determine the most common way of expressing ideas in the English language (and other languages). This is generally done by doing a 'count' of different variants, thereby establishing which expression is more common. While this approach requires careful judgement, it does improve the ability of non-native translators to use more idiomatically correct English expressions.

Google dance

Google dance refers to the period of time when Google indexes are tuned. This will often cause both a fluctuation in index size as well a significant change in a web site's search result position.

Search engine features

Besides the main search engine feature of searching for text, the search engine can be used as a calculator, currency converter, dictionary and many others as well.

Error messages

Some searches will give a 403 Forbidden error with the text

"We're sorry...

... but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now.

We'll restore your access as quickly as possible, so try again soon. In the meantime, if you suspect that your computer or network has been infected, you might want to run a virus checker or spyware remover to make sure that your systems are free of viruses and other spurious software.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope we'll see you again on Google."

The message may be thrown up by conventional searches or links; the suggestion that the user's computer may be infected is often incorrect. The screen was first reported in 2005 and was a response to the heavy use of Google by Search Engine Optimisation companies to check on ranks of sites they were optimising. The message may also be triggered by high volumes of different searches from a single IP address. The block is removed after a day.

Search products

Main article: List of Google products

In addition to its tool for searching webpages, Google also provides services for searching images, Usenet newsgroups, news websites, videos, searching by locality, maps, and items for sale online. In 2006, Google has indexed over 25 billion web pages, 1.3 billion images, and over one billion Usenet messages. It also caches much of the content that it indexes. Google operates other tools and services including Google News, Google Suggest, Froogle, Google Maps, Google Co-op and Google Desktop Search.

There are also products available from Google that are not directly search-related. Gmail, for example, is a webmail application, but still include search features; Google Browser Sync does not offer any search facilties, although it aims to organise your browsing time.

Google jargon

To google

In Merriam Webster Online, "google" has been added to their dictionary. It is defined as a transitive verb, meaning "to use Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web."

Googler

a person who uses Google's features very efficiently. Mostly uses the "I'm feeling lucky" button when searching. Fan of a google. 'Googler' is sometimes also used for "Expert Online Searcher". Also, a company term for a full-time google employee.

Google-proof

Search-phrase delivering exactly the intended result while searching with Google.

Sandbox Effect

The industry created name for a phenomenon that began in March 2004 in which Google seemingly filtered (from its results) any newly created websites. This was done to combat and filter search spam in which spammers were creating multitudes of sites for nefarious internet marketing purposes. Google reasoned that a valid site would progressively gain a natural link and content structure over time, and until the site could meet this 'trust threshold', it would be exempt from all but obscure search results.

Google bomb

An attempt to influence the ranking of a given site in results returned by Google search engine. Accomplished by linking many sites to the target site with 'bomb' keywords used as the link text. A notable Google bomb was: google search for 'miserable failure'. 'Bomb' refers to the effect of having massive amounts of links created for the sole purpose of increasing the rankings of a 'target' website for the bomb keywords. Slang: "We Google bombed George Bush's web site with 'miserable failure'. Also known as Google wash.

Google twin

A person (or people) with the same name as a google-search user, found only when the user searches for their own name.

Googlewhack

A search using two dictionary-valid (underlined by Google) words that only results in one hit.

Google in popular culture

• The search engine appears in some films like Hitch, starring Will Smith.
• It also appears in the film Alien Autopsy, starring the Geordie duo Ant and Dec.
• In the popular Japanese Animation Death Note the protagonist Light Yagami can be seen using a fictional Google called Gentle. Every single aspect of the fictional Google is exactly the same as its real life counterpart.
• Google search page was featured on a Pontiac commercial in late 2006-early 2007.
• Google has been seen in a season 18 episode of The Simpsons, with the G cut off while Marge was learning how to use a computer.

Google games

• In Gwigle, learn advanced Google search tricks while going through the puzzles.
• In Googlewhack attempt to find two words that produce exactly one search result.
• In Google talk (not to be confused with Google Talk, Google's VoIP/IM service), google searches are used to complete a beginning of a sentence with words, leading to amusing or interesting results.
• In Googlefight, pit two keywords against each other to find which one has more results.
• In Guess Google, attempt to guess which search term resulted in the displayed images.
• In Toogle, User can search images with the text of the search item making up the image. "The most comprehensive image buggery on the web"

See also

• elgooG
• Googlewhack
• History of Google
• Peter Norvig
• List of Google services and tools
• List of search engines

Further reading

• Google Hacks from O'Reilly is a book containing tips about using Google effectively. Now in its second edition. ISBN 0-596-00857-0
• Google: The Missing Manual by Sarah Milstein and Rael Dornfest (O'Reilly, 2004). ISBN 0-596-00613-6
• How to Do Everything with Google by Fritz Schneider, Nancy Blachman, and Eric Fredricksen (McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2003). ISBN 0-07-223174-2
• Google Power by Chris Sherman (McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2005). ISBN 0-07-225787-3
• SEO for Google by Paul Bliss - an eBook that describes in precise detail the methods needed to get your site top rankings in Google for your keywords.

Changes

• Google is reinventing its home page to allow users to put their own content on it. (Further info at bbc)

External links

• Google.com
• ZSNET.co.uk article
• Summary of Google's general terms of service
• Google Search and Tools
• Google Webmaster Resources