The search engine buzz
The buzz today is all about internet search engines and the reason has to do with the service they provide. If you are like me, you can recall having to drive down to your local library and look up information on Micro-fiche or encyclopedias or go down into what the library used to call the stacks. Those times are gone now that search engines are on the scene.
Who are the major internet search engines?
There are really two major players in the internet search engine space but there are dozens more. The first is Google and the second is Overture. You’ve probably heard of Google before but Overture is not such a common household name. Google serves as an end user tool while Overture powers the searches of companies like Yahoo and others.
The behemoth known as Google
Google, believe it or not, got its start out of Stanford University where two students worked together on their Doctoral degrees to identify a way to use the bibliography approach used in thesis writing and apply it to the web. The thought was that a website was important based on who was linking to it as the more people linking to that site meant that the site was an important site. This whole approach was patented and believe it or not that patent moves back over to Stanford University in 2009 and they will be able to license it out at will. The question will be whether other internet search engines will vie for it or whether the technology will be too out of date by then. Neither of the students received their PHDs by the way.
Who’s the second largest internet search engine?
Overture came about in a completely different way. It came out of what was called the idea labs, an entrepreneurial venture designed to develop new businesses and then get them kicked off with funding from investment folks. From the start, they mixed in paid sponsored links along with the organic only links that other search engines utilize. They would have been more successful had they not been sold from company to company while the G-men from Stanford were able to lock up the market.
Where do all search engines go from here?
The internet is a dynamic environment and internet search engines are no different. So much money and resources are behind the major companies that they will be developing new products and new ways to deliver them. All search engines are not made equal obvious by the fact that the majority of people go to Google.com to conduct a search. However, over time, I believe that as computing power accelerates then it is only a matter of time before all search engines become roughly equal. It is only a question of when that will be. It won’t be a year but it could be five or ten. Mark my words.
Sean Walters is a managing partner of Web Wide Holdings LLC which runs numerous websites including http://www.discountquest.com He has presented his thoughts at several National Direct Marketing Association conferences and is a highly regarded expert in the area of internet and catalog marketing.
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