Major Search Engines and Directories

Search engines have changed dramatically over the years, and those that were previously seen as being market leaders are no longer. With the introduction of Google in 1998 came a new era in web searching, web site rankings and the way we do advertising on the Internet. Existing search engines acted quickly to keep abreast of this new player, but not always successfully.

Google was created by Stanford University students Larry Page and Sergey Brin as part of a university project. It is now a listed company, with an annual turnover of tens of millions of dollars.

How is it that a simple means of searching for pages on the web has become such a lucrative business?

There is a huge market in developing search-engine friendly websites, to gain better appearances in search results. This has created a market for targeted advertising by major search engines, to give web masters the opportunity to display an ad and link to their web site on the first or second page of results – for a fee. And so the cycle has grown.

Google is now by far the largest and most popular search engine in the world. Its complex algorithms and spidering techniques went where no search engine had gone before; adding images, videos, newsgroup discussions and more to the mix of media to search for. Quick loading times and a fundamentally easy-to-use site sets Google apart from other major engines. Its AdWords and AdSense programs are among the most popular advertising methods on the planet.

Prior to the success of Google, search engines Yahoo!, Lycos and Altavista were the be all and end all of search engines. Yahoo! is the oldest “directory” style website on the Internet, having been created in 1994. Yahoo!’s web site does offer more bang for your buck than Google’s, and what is compromised in loading times is made up for in richness of features. Its original directory style is still available, and users can pay to have their site listed. Beyond that, Yahoo! also offers news, weather, shopping, games, web hosting and dozens of other enticements for visitors.

Google and Yahoo! also faced off over the introduction of Gmail, Google’s own email provider, which was quickly followed by a huge overhaul of Yahoo!’s email service. Over time, the other search engines we grew to love in the mid to late 90s all but disappeared, many being bought out

Google and Yahoo! also faced off over the introduction of Gmail, Google’s own email provider, which was quickly followed by a huge overhaul of Yahoo!’s email service. Over time, the other search engines we grew to love in the mid to late 90s all but disappeared, many being bought out by larger web-based companies such as eBay and MSN (which, despite the popularity of its messenger service, remains third in the search engine stakes).

Figures from July 2005 state that Google accounts for 52 per cent of all web searches, with Yahoo! far behind at 25 per cent and MSN behind again with 10 per cent market share.

There also exists a myriad of smaller directories and engines, which are great for gaining more targeted exposure. Sites such as Ask Jeeves are a little more “boutique” in their presentation and are renowned for returning the most relevant search engine results. Then there are “review” sites in CNET and ZDNet, which provide an enormous amount of traffic to shopping and product listing sites.

Community web sites account for a great amount of traffic on the Internet, and women are especially keen to share thoughts and ideas through theme-based sites, although of course they are not limited just to being female-friendly! If your product or service is fairly specialized in its targeting, or you want to gauge a response from a very particular audience, sites such as these may be of interest to you. Many offer directories and affordable banner advertising.

Web advertising

All of these sites, and ones like them, provide some means of marketing on the web.