Dear Google Friends!
Happy New Year and welcome to the January issue of the Google-Friends
Newsletter! This mailing contains the latest scoop about Google and a
preview of things to come. This mailing is only sent to those who have
requested it. If you'd like to stop receiving the Google-Friends
newsletter, please send an email to google-friends-unsubscribe@egroups.com.
We haven't been in touch for some time now, so we're anxious to share
some great news and inside tips with you, our most loyal Google users.
In this issue, we'll discuss how Google has grown tremendously over
the past few months: in the number of searches we perform daily, in
awards and accolades we've received, and in services that we offer.
Google Traffic Increases 70,000%!
This is not a typo! Google ended 1999 averaging about 7 million
searches each day, a roughly 70,000% increase over the 10,000 searches
per day that were performed on the Google site in December 1998! This
explosive growth reflects the total number of searches performed by
users on www.google.com and on our corporate partner sites. As of the
middle of January, we are averaging more than 10 million searches each
day! Thank you for spreading the word!
Google's a Hit--Survey Says: You Really, Really Like Us!
As our traffic grew, so did the recognition we received from major
media publications and an industry-wide survey. Yahoo Internet Life
named Google the Best Search Engine site in its "100 Best Sites for
2000" issue. Time magazine named Google to its "Best Cybertech of
1999" in its Dec. 20 issue and Google received a 1999 PC Magazine
Technical Excellence Award at COMDEX/Fall '99. And Internet users
agree! Google ranked first in a nationwide survey of search and portal
users commissioned by 13 major search companies. According to NPD
Online Research, Google led all sites with:
- 97 percent of its users identifying Google as much or somewhat
better than other sites
- 95 percent of its users finding what they are searching for all
or most of the time
- 8 in 10 of its users choosing Google because it delivers the best
search results.
For more on the survey, check out the press release we issued:
http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/pressrelease9.html
New Search Products (including Free WebSearch)
Add the world's best search engine to your own website! Google has
introduced an automated WebSearch program that allows you to add
web-wide search capacity to your site in two easy steps. The program
consists of three packages, Free Search, Silver Search, and Gold
Search. All include co-branding and some degree of customization. Find
more information at http://www.google.com/services/websearch.html.
Coming Soon: Be a Google Affiliate
Good karma is not the only reward for sharing the good news about
Google! Google will soon launch an affiliate program in order to
thank those of you who've put Google search boxes on your site. With
every Google search performed from your site, Google will provide some
kind of reward. More details coming soon!
For Mac Lovers: New Apple-specific Google Search Engine
Google has just introduced a new Apple-specific search engine that is
specifically tailored to high-quality websites related to Apple
Computer and the Macintosh computing platform:
http://www.google.com/mac.html.
Apple Search joins Google's growing
roster of specialized searches, which include a Linux search, a
U.S. government search, and a Stanford University search. Look for
many more to come.
Make Google Your Default Engine
Now you can set Google as the default search engine for Netscape and
Explorer, set Google as your start page, and use a plug-in to do
Google searches with Apple computer's Sherlock tool:
http://www.google.com/options/defaults.html
The Word on Google and RealNames
You may have noticed the presence of RealNames Internet Keyword (RN)
links on some Google results pages. Google has entered into a
partnership with RealNames that complements our search service by
offering the option of RealNames' human-edited catalog to help
navigate the web. If the first Google result differs from the RN
result, the RN result is shown at the top of the page with a small
"RN" to the right of the returned result. Look for more partnerships
with leading information providers in the future.
Calling All Google Search Success Stories!
Did you find a long-lost friend or relative on Google? Did you finally
locate that out-of-print book? We want to hear about it! Send us the
stories of your successful Google searches and you may find your story
featured on our website! Send stories to success at google.com.
We Want to Hear From You!
As always, we welcome user comments and suggestions. Drop us a line to
webmaster and let us know your thoughts on how we're doing.
Sincerely,
Sergey Brin, President and Co-founder
Larry Page, CEO and Co-founder
