Years ago, when Yahoo, Excite and AOL were the top websites on the Internet, no one would have thought that a site would soon come along that would be dedicated exclusively to search. Do you remember the first time you used Google? Most veterans would have first visited Google through links proclaiming the usefulness of its search feature. Their first impression of Google would most likely have been a big: wow!

It was only in December 2006 that Google overtook Yahoo as the most popular search engine. Since then, Google has grown to provide better search services, as well as offer digital marketing products like Adwords and Adsense. However, when we look back at the past, we often wonder what the ‘wow’ factor was, that led people to prefer Google over Yahoo? Well, most digital marketing experts put forward two reasons.

The first reason was Google’s inherent simplicity. Compared to the confusing portal which Yahoo had become by offering content on everything from sports, to movies, to culture, and free home pages; the user experience on Google was quite refreshing. As the home page did not have flashy digital marketing banners and images, it also took very little time to load, especially on the relatively slow internet speeds available in the nineties.

Google was also pretty simple to use. You just had to visit the website, type in your search query, and a list of search results would be displayed. It was like a soft breeze in a world where content-rich portals were shouting for attention.

The second reason why users chose Google was because it did the job it promised, very efficiently. Though many portals like Yahoo and MSN also had search boxes that allowed users to search for content on the Internet, the search technology of Google was considered to be far superior. Google’s now famous search algorithm, which checked the number of incoming links before assigning rankings, was a big step forward. It helped users get highly relevant results that could not be gathered from other websites.

Many companies began figuring out ways to fool the early search engines, by stuffing keywords in the content to rank high for certain digital marketing keywords. Yahoo and MSN were severely affected by this digital marketing strategy, which led to annoyed Internet users seeking better search options. At that time, Google seemed immune to manipulation, which is why it rose in popularity.

Today, all digital marketing professionals know that no search engine is immune to manipulation. In fact, many marketers make a living out of getting high ranks for pages with very little relevant content, by using various digital marketing strategies. This has made it imperative for Google to continue developing their algorithm to ensure that users are served relevant results.

Qudos Digital is a leading digital marketing agency, and can be contacted on 0845 388 5583 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk.