Google began in 1998 as a search engine built by two Stanford University computer science students

Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Google in a Stanford dorm room as a research project. They developed a new way to rank web pages by counting how many other pages linked to them — the idea that popular pages probably contained better information. This approach worked better than the search engines already available, which mostly just matched keywords without understanding which results were actually useful.

Page and Brin registered the domain google.com on September 15, 1997, and officially launched the search engine in 1998. The name came from "googol," a mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros — meant to represent the vast amount of information on the internet. They ran the service from a garage in Menlo Park, California, with help from a small group of early employees.

Key Takeaways

  • Google started as a Stanford University research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin who invented a better way to rank search results using links between pages.
  • The company launched in 1998 and initially operated from a garage in California with just a handful of employees.
  • Google's early success came from returning more relevant search results than competitors like Yahoo and AltaVista, which attracted millions of users quickly.
  • The company went public in 2004 and expanded into email, maps, video hosting, and other services that made it one of the world's largest technology companies.

Why Google's search method was different from competitors

Before Google, search engines like Yahoo and AltaVista ranked results mainly by counting how many times a search term appeared on a page. A page stuffed with keywords ranked high, even if it contained poor information. Page and Brin's system, called PageRank, treated the web like a network of votes — if many pages linked to a result, that page probably mattered.

This approach meant Google returned fewer results overall, but the results at the top were usually what people actually wanted. Users noticed the difference when ready. Google's clean, straightforward interface also stood out — most search engines at the time cluttered their homepages with advertisements and navigation menus. Google's homepage showed almost nothing but a search box.

How Google grew from a startup to a major company

Google's first investors came in 1998 and 1999, including Andy Bechtolsheim, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, who wrote a check for $100,000. The company moved out of the garage and into a real office in Palo Alto. By 2000, Google was handling millions of searches per day and had become the default search engine for many internet users.

In 2001, Eric Schmidt joined as chief executive officer to help run the growing company. Page and Brin remained as president of products and president of technology. The company continued adding features — Google Images launched in 2001, Google News in 2002, and Gmail in 2004. Each new service drew more users and more advertising revenue.

Google's initial public offering and expansion into new services

Google went public on August 19, 2004, selling shares to the public for the first time. The company raised $1.67 billion and became one of the most valuable technology companies in the world almost when ready. The public offering made Page, Brin, and early employees wealthy, and gave Google the money to expand far beyond search.

After going public, Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion, giving it a video platform. It launched Google Maps and Google Earth, acquired the Android operating system in 2005, and expanded Gmail into a full productivity suite. By the early 2010s, Google had become a company that touched almost every part of how people used the internet.

How Google made money from the start

Google's business model relied on advertising from the beginning, though not in the obvious way. The company did not plaster ads across its search results page. Instead, it created a system called AdWords that let businesses bid to show small text advertisements next to search results related to their products. If someone searched for "running shoes," shoe companies could pay to appear in a small ad box.

This approach worked because the ads were relevant to what people were searching for, so users did not mind seeing them. Advertisers paid only when someone actually clicked their ad, not just for showing it. Google took a cut of each click. This model generated enormous revenue — the company made money while keeping the search results themselves free and uncluttered.

What made Google different from other tech startups of that era

Many internet companies in the late 1990s burned through investor money without ever making a profit. Google was different — it became profitable within a few years because its advertising model worked so well. The company also kept its focus narrow at first, perfecting search before expanding into other areas.

Page and Brin also maintained a company culture that encouraged employees to spend time on experimental projects. This led to innovations like Gmail and Google Maps that started as side projects. The company's motto, "Don't be evil," reflected a stated commitment to user privacy and transparency that set it apart from competitors who sold user data more aggressively.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Page and Brin call it Google instead of BackRub?

The search engine was originally called BackRub because it analyzed the "back links" pointing to a page. Page and Brin wanted a name that reflected the scale of their ambition. They chose "Google" after the mathematical term "googol" to suggest they could organize the vast amount of information on the internet.

Did Google invent the internet or search engines?

No. Search engines existed before Google — Yahoo, AltaVista, and others were already popular. Google invented a better way to rank search results using links between pages. The internet itself was created by researchers at universities and government agencies starting in the 1960s and 1970s.

How many people worked at Google when it started?

Google began with just Page and Brin in a dorm room. By 1998, they had hired a small handful of early employees. The company grew to about 40 people by 2000 and around 200 by the time it went public in 2004. Today, Google employs hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

What happened to Yahoo, which was bigger than Google at the time?

Yahoo started as a web directory — humans organized websites into categories. When Google's automated search proved more useful, Yahoo eventually adopted Google's search results. Yahoo later struggled as search became less profitable and social media and mobile apps changed how people found information online.