Google was founded on September 4, 1998, during the exciting early days of Silicon Valley.
That makes Google 26 years old.
Above you can see a calculation that tells you exactly how old Google is down to the minute.
The Inception of Google
Larry Page and Sergey Brin came up with the idea for Google while they were studying at Stanford University.
They created a special algorithm called PageRank that changed the way we find information online.
They started with a different name, "BackRub," but eventually settled on "Google." Since then, Google as a search engine has completely transformed the internet.
Key Events in the History of Google
Over the past quarter-century since its inception, Google has experienced numerous significant events and milestones. Here are some of the key moments in Google's history:
- 1996: Larry Page and Sergey Brin start the Google project at Stanford University.
- 1998: Google is officially founded on September 4 (we have this date as Googles official birthday).
- 2004: Google goes public with an initial public offering.
- 2006: Google acquires YouTube.
- 2008: Google purchases DoubleClick.
- 2012: Google takes over Motorola Mobility.
- 2013: Google integrates Waze into its services.
- 2014: Google acquires DeepMind Technologies.
- 2015: Google restructures into Alphabet Inc., Sundar Pichai becomes CEO of Google.
- 2017: Google fires James Damore over his controversial memo.
- 2019: Google announces entry into the video game market with Google Stadia.
- 2019: The United States Department of Justice announces it will investigate Google for antitrust violations.
- 2020: Google announces cost-cutting measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2021: The Alphabet Workers Union is founded.
- 2023: Google removes Canadian news links from its services due to legislation requiring payment for news articles.
- 2023: Google launches Search Generative Experience (SGE)
- 2024: Google roll out AI Overview as part of their Search Result Page (SERPs)
Key Algorithm Updates in Google's History
Google's search algorithm has undergone numerous updates since its inception. These updates are designed to improve the quality of search results, penalize low-quality websites, and reward those that provide valuable, user-friendly content. Here's a look at some of the most significant algorithm updates in Google's history:
- 2003: Google launches the "Florida" update, which drastically changes Google's ranking algorithm.
- 2005: Google introduces the "NoFollow" attribute to combat spam links.
- 2005: The "Jagger" update is rolled out to tackle low-quality links.
- 2009: Google launches the "Vince" update, favoring big brands in its search results.
- 2010: The "May Day" update is released to improve the quality of long-tail search results.
- 2011: Google introduces the "Panda" update to reward high-quality websites.
- 2012: The "Penguin" update is launched to penalize websites with unnatural link profiles.
- 2013: Google rolls out the "Hummingbird" update to improve the precision and speed of search queries.
- 2014: The "Pigeon" update is introduced to provide more useful, relevant, and accurate local search results.
- 2015: Google launches the "Mobile" update, also known as "Mobilegeddon", to reward mobile-friendly websites.
- 2016: The "Possum" update is rolled out to diversify local search results.
- 2018: Google introduces the "Medic" update, focusing on health and medical sites.
- 2019: The "BERT" update is launched to better understand natural language processing.
- 2020: Google rolls out the "Core" update to improve the overall relevance of search results.
- 2021: Google introduces the "Page Experience" update, focusing on user experience metrics.
What is the birth date of Google?
Google was created on September 4, 1998.
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