Google is the big dog among the search engines and search directories. We all know that. In one COM Score estimate, Google holds more than 68-percent of the search traffic for the entire Internet while all of the other search engines and directories combined parse and claim the remaining 32-percent.

In an interview, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has stated of the search engine wars, “Google has kicked our butts.”

Why is Google so popular? First, it is very fast. The Mountain View, California search giant has a huge array of hardware, doing calculations and spitting out results at lightning speed. Second, the results are relevant. If you search for “t-shirts” you will get websites that are all about t-shirts in the results rather than, say, and insurance company that happens to be the highest bidder on this keyword.

Third, Google is fun. On one past April Fool’s Day, Google unveiled it secret PigeonRank technology behind its ranking algorithms. PigeonRank is basically a roomful of pigeons pecking away at keyboards establishing the search results for all websites on the search engine. Of course, this is not to be confused with the Pigeon Update, which is real, and which effects local websites with multiple NAP (name, address, phone number) listings on the Internet.

The precursor to the PigeonRank joke was a roomful of monkeys at typewriters banging out Shakespearian plays. Also, Google likes to change its graphical masthead according to holidays and other important current events – more fun!

Fourth, Google is simple. Google’s interface does not bombard the visitor with news, sports, weather, banner ads and flash animations like some other search engines and directories do. Often imitated, never duplicated, Google’s design still remains fresh and clean.

If a website owner had to choose only one search engine to be ranked upon, it would have to be Google. Google provides many businesses with the bulk of their traffic and has to be the first priority when thinking about where to be listed on the Internet.

In addition to search, Google (or Alphabet) now has so many other properties it’s hard to keep track of them all. For digital marketing purposes Google has Ads, Adsense, Google My Business, Search Console (Webmaster Tools), Analytics, YouTube, Android, Connected Home, Gmail, Photos, Docs, Drive, Maps, Waze and so much more. If you’re a digital marketer then you’ll need to be aware of all of these products and you’d be well served to investigate the lesser known ones as well.

For the latest news involving Google please check out our Google Blog Category

Further Reading on Google Properties

Google Products – https://about.google/products/?tip=do-not-disturb

A list—from A to Z—of all the companies, brands Google’s Alphabet currently owns – https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/z-list-brands-companies-google-alphabet-owns-article-1.2321981

A List Of Products Larry Page Has Google Working On Other Than Search, Such As Spoons – https://www.businessinsider.com/a-list-of-google-products-2014-9

List of Google products – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Google_products