Google Innovations

Google has been spear-heading the search engine field since its inception in late 1998. Not content to merely index web pages Google has since organized the index into categories, index the images used on web sites, as well as catalogue the last twenty years of Usenet archives. These are their best known search capabilities. However the innovations only begin at this point.

Search queries encompass certain basic principles such as proper spelling, accurate indexing of sites, the format delivered from search results (typically html), and the language being used, to name a few. Google has created new technologies, which address these issues and more in an efficient and unprecedented manner. By entering a word into the search bar, Google will also provide a link to a dictionary with correct spelling and definition, as well as compensate for misspelled words by offering alternative search strings. Google is also capable of translating Web pages into any of five different languages.

Google has created a browser plug-in which features a new technology being developed called PageRank. This simple bar graph summarizes elements like link popularity, link weight, and text matching in order to rank the page in relation to the search query.

The ability to perform a search for a specific file format is also possible. Supported file types include Word documents, .PDF, PowerPoint, and Excel as well as many others. Because some file formats present a higher risk of virus inclusions, it is now possible to convert that file into HTML for enhanced security.

Having recently partnered with BMW, Google is now developing a voice-activated technology for a line of automobiles which claim to have internet capabilities via an LCD display set in the dashboard. This makes for an excellent combination with Google’s ability to recognize certain queries as map requests and return links from quality map providers such as Yahoo! Maps or MapBlast. Maps can also be provided with a search for personal or business addresses through a catalogue of telephone directories from every city in the U.S.

While Google doesn’t overtly display advertisements with their search queries they do offer specialized services for companies to display links to their site based on keyword search strings. The AdWords Program is a service whereby a client manages their own account and advertising text without a minimum fee. The Premium Sponsorships display link text above search results, also based on specific search strings. This allows for highly targeted marketing with an established click-through rate up to five times higher than conventional banner ad placement services.

Google’s mission is to provide the most comprehensive and the most accurate search results possible. By stepping forward into entirely new methods of cataloguing and indexing Google is redefining the notion of not only web-based searches but entirely new methods of information extraction from the internet.