Of course, being able to see and interact with Web pages is only useful if you can find them. That’s where search engines come in. Most people probably don’t remember the first search engines — such as Archie, Veronica and Jughead — I know I don’t. But starting in the mid 90s a slew of search engines and searchable Web directories launched that many of you likely remember. WebCrawler, Infoseek, Lycos, AltaVista, Megellan, Yahoo!, Excite, Inktomi, Ask Jeeves and more provided ways for early Web users to find information. Then in 1998, Google launched, with the lofty goals of indexing more of the Web than any search engine before it, and organizing all the world’s information — including information beyond the scope of the Web. Very quickly, Google became the dominant search engine on the Internet and perhaps more importantly, they were also the first to figure out how to really successfully monetize a multi-billion dollar business.
Search is still the main way that users find information on the Web, and today’s search landscape is very much a three-horse race between Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft’s Bing, though Google’s lead is a couple of furiongs.