I got caught in Jim Boykin’s Flashbacks on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and more post and went digging Google.com circa December 2, 1998.

One of the pages that caught my eye was the Why Use Google page. Very nice retro read. You can’t find a live copy in Google.com now, so this artifact should be a good read for search historians and newbies alike.

Why Use Google?

Because Google delivers the most relevant search results–first and fast! Marc: Google’s most relevant USP is still true today IMO.

Google uses sophisticated next-generation technology to produce the right results fast with every query. Google returns relevant results because it responds to your query using an automated method that ranks relevant websites based on the link structure of the Internet itself. Marc: see what happens when you give away your ranking secret? The current search ranking algorithms are probably so far from the original.

The overwhelming amount of information of the web requires an excellent search service to render that information accessible and useful. Without a powerful search tool, finding a specific website can be as difficult as finding a book in a library that has no card catalogue and a completely random method of storing its books.

Google Brings Order to the Web

Google is designed to impose order on information chaos. It’s what a search service should be; not an edited, limited directory or a list of results that have been auctioned to the highest bidder, but a thoughtful method of organizing the Internet according to its own structure. Marc: “designed to impose order”…I like the choice of words ;)

Google has revolutionized searching on the web with its patent-pending PageRankTM technology. PageRank leverages the structural nature of the web, which is defined by the way in which any web page can link to any other web page, instantly, directly, and without an intermediary. In a sense, this link structure automatically democratizes the Internet. It eliminates hierarchy and enables information and ideas to flow unimpeded from site to site. Marc: this is where Google’s plans have shown the greatest change. Once people realized the value of links and started trading them, the “links will democratize the Internet” vision was f*cked

PageRank Explained

PageRank capitalizes on the uniquely democratic characteristic of the web by using its vast link structure as an organizational tool. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. Google assesses a page’s importance by the votes it receives. But Google looks at more than sheer volume of votes, or links; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important.” Marc: I’m surprised they were actually talking about ‘authority’, ‘trust’ and ‘quality’ then.

These important, high-quality results receive a higher PageRank and will be ordered higher in results. In this way, PageRank is Google’s general indicator of importance and does not depend on a specific query. Rather, it is a characteristic of a page itself based on data from the web that Google analyzes using complex algorithms that assess link structure.

Of course, important pages mean nothing to you if they don’t match your query. So, Google uses sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. For instance, when Google analyzes a page, it looks at what those pages linking to that page have to say about it. Marc: on-page and anchor text keyword optimization is still the way to go today, with a few modifiers thrown in like authority, trust, etc.

Integrity

Google’s complex, automated search methods preclude human interference. Unlike other search engines, Google is structured so no one can purchase a higher PageRank or commercially alter results. A Google search is an honest and objective way to find high-quality websites, easily. Marc: ow how did they ever think no one was going to sell a PR8 link down the road?n

Benefits of a Google Search

Google only returns pages that include the terms you type.

Unlike many other search engines, Google only produces results that match all of your search terms, either in the text of the page or in the link anchors pointing to the page. No more frustration with results that have nothing to do with your search terms. Marc: 7+ years after, we still worry about the same things: relevance and rank.

Google honors the location of your search terms within a page.

Not only do Google’s results contain all of your search terms, but Google also analyzes the proximity of those terms within a page. Unlike many other search engines, Google prioritizes results according to the proximity of search terms. We favor results with your search terms in close proximity, so you spend less time sifting through irrelevant results.

Google offers a relevant preview of each return.

Instead of web page summaries that never change, Google excerpts the text that matches your query — with your search terms highlighted — right in the search results. This customization saves you the time and frustration of loading an irrelevant web page.

Google can make you feel lucky!

Google excels at producing the right result first for common queries such as company names. We’re so confident, in fact, that we’ve installed an “I’m Feeling LuckyTM” button, which takes you directly to the website of the first search result. Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” feature is designed to get you to useful information quickly.

Google caches web pages.

Google stores many web pages in its cache to retrieve for you as a back-up in case the page’s server temporarily fails. If the server is not available, Google’s cache of the page you need can be a lifesaver. This cached material can often be much faster than following the regular link, although the information you receive may be less up-to-date. Still, in many cases, no more frustrating 404 Not Found errors!