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Timeline of web search engines

{{Short description|none}}

{{update|date=May 2020}}

{{History of computing}}

This page provides a full timeline of web search engines, starting from the WHOis in 1982, the Archie search engine in 1990, and subsequent developments in the field. It is complementary to the history of web search engines page that provides more qualitative detail on the history.

Timeline

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! Year !! Month !! Day !! Event type !! Event

1982Pre-web domain search engineWHOis{{cite web | author = Jon Penland| title = Before There Was Google: A History Of Web Search Engines | url = https://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/history-search-engines/ | access-date = 2019-04-19 }}{{cite web | author = Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers | author-link = Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers | title = History of WHOIS | url = https://whois.icann.org/en/history-whois| access-date = 2019-04-19 }} Elizabeth Feinler and her team (who had created the Resource Directory for ARPANET) were responsible for creating the first WHOIS directory in the early 1970s.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C8ouDwAAQBAJ |title=Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet|last=Evans|first=Claire L.|publisher=Portfolio/Penguin|year=2018|isbn=978-0-7352-1175-9|location=New York} |page=116}} Feinler set up a server in Stanford's Network Information Center (NIC) which acted as a directory that could retrieve relevant information about people or entities.{{Sfn|Evans|2018|p=119}} She and the team created domains, with Feinler's suggestion that domains be divided into categories based on the physical address of the computer.{{Sfn|Evans|2018|p=120}}
1990September {{cite web |author=David Shedden |title=Today in media history: The first Internet search engine is released in 1990 |date=10 September 2014 |website=Poynter |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2014/today-in-media-history-the-first-internet-search-engine-is-released-in-1990/}}10 (released) Pre-web content search engineThe Archie search engine, created by Alan Emtage{{cite web | author = pcmag| title = Archie | url = https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/archie | publisher=pcmag.com| access-date = 2020-09-20 }}{{cite web | author = Alexandra Samuel| title = Meet Alan Emtage, the Black Technologist Who Invented ARCHIE, the First Internet Search Engine| date = 21 February 2017| url = https://daily.jstor.org/alan-emtage-first-internet-search-engine/ |publisher= ITHAKA| access-date = 2020-09-20 }}{{cite web | author = loop news barbados | title = Alan Emtage- a Barbadian you should know | url = http://www.loopnewsbarbados.com/content/alan-emtage-barbadian-you-should-know | publisher = loopnewsbarbados.com | access-date = 2020-09-21 | archive-date = 2020-09-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200923065914/http://www.loopnewsbarbados.com/content/alan-emtage-barbadian-you-should-know }}{{cite web | author = Dino Grandoni, Alan Emtage | title = Alan Emtage: The Man Who Invented The World's First Search Engine (But Didn't Patent It)| date = April 2013| url = https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/alan-emtage-search-engine_n_2994090?ri18n=true&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jb25zZW50LnlhaG9vLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABveQefuoczW_8_bxwbOgluVTUPvIfv5s_OP1jMgUJd8MCwKc148lvXb7HAHXY48P_Be6wXMW0LKlLRfQzJNalLpuwnp7F6NpbyDC2BG10OveS2qtubkO0PhJ8-juP3M2a9K2ygbWuoUhOCvO-1NA6-YQKA8BtdZEcsfUUI_M-8S | publisher= huffingtonpost.co.uk|access-date = 2020-09-21 }} computer science student at McGill University in Montreal, goes live. The program downloads the directory listings of all the files located on public anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol) sites, creates a searchable database of a lot of file names; however, Archie does not index the contents of these sites since the amount of data is so limited it can be readily searched manually.{{cite web | title = The First Search Engine, Archie | url = http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~chip/projects/timeline/1990archie.htm | access-date = 2007-05-26 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070621141150/http://isrl.uiuc.edu/~chip/projects/timeline/1990archie.htm| archive-date= 21 June 2007 | url-status= live}}{{cite web | title = In Russian: History of the Internet. The First Search Engine | url = http://www.xserver.ru/computer/nets/internet/196/ | access-date = 2012-02-23 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.wordstream.com/articles/internet-search-engines-history|title = History of Search Engines - Chronological List of Internet Search Engines|access-date = February 3, 2014}}
1991Pre-web search engineThe rise of Gopher (created in 1991 by Mark McCahill at the University of Minnesota) leads to two new search programs, Veronica and Jughead. Like Archie, they search the file names and titles stored in Gopher index systems. Veronica (Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives) provides a keyword search of most Gopher menu titles in the entire Gopher listings. Jughead (Jonzy's Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation And Display) is a tool for obtaining menu information from specific Gopher servers. While the name of the search engine "Archie" was not a reference to the Archie comic book series, "Veronica" and "Jughead" are characters in the series, thus referencing their predecessor.{{Cite web|url=http://www.searchenginehistory.com/|title = Search Engine History|access-date = February 3, 2014}}
1992Virtual library of the webTim Berners-Lee sets up the Virtual Library (VLib), a loose confederation of topical experts maintaining relevant topical link lists.
rowspan="4" |1993

|June

First web robotMatthew K. Gray produces the first known web robot, the Perl-based World Wide Web Wanderer, and uses it to generate an index of the web called the Wandex.{{cite web|url=https://www.mit.edu/~mkgray/net/background.html|title = Internet Growth and Statistics: Credit and Background|last = Gray|first = Matthew|access-date = February 3, 2014}} However, the World Wide Web Wanderer is intended only to measure the size of the web rather than to facilitate search.
September2First web search engineW3Catalog, written by Oscar Nierstrasz at the University of Geneva, is released to the world. It is the world's first web search engine. It does not rely on a crawler and indexer but rather on already existing high-quality lists of websites. One of its main drawbacks is that the bot accesses each page hundreds of times each day, causing performance degradation.{{cite web |url=http://scg.unibe.ch/archive/software/w3catalog/|title=W3 Catalog History}}{{cite web|url=http://www-ksl.stanford.edu/people/gruber/virtual-documents-htw/|title=Virtual documents that explain How Things Work: Dynamically generated question-answering documents|author=Thomas R. Gruber, Sunil Vemuri and James Rice|date=December 1995|publisher=Knowledge Systems Laboratory, Stanford University|access-date=2014-02-11|archive-date=2012-12-15|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121215002725/http://www-ksl.stanford.edu/people/gruber/virtual-documents-htw/}}
October/NovemberSecond web search engineAliweb, a web search engine created by Martijn Koster, is announced. It does not use a web robot, but instead depends on being notified by website administrators of the existence at each site of an index file in a particular format. The absence of a bot means that less bandwidth is used; however, most website administrators are not aware of the need to submit their data.
DecemberFirst web search engine to use a crawler and indexerJumpStation, created by Jonathon Fletcher, is released. It is the first WWW resource-discovery tool to combine the three essential features of a web search engine (crawling, indexing, and searching).{{cite web|url=http://metro.co.uk/2009/03/15/why-we-nearly-mcgoogled-it-545208/|title = Why we nearly McGoogled it|date = March 15, 2009|access-date = February 3, 2014|publisher = Metro}}
rowspan="5" |1994

|rowspan="2"|January

|New web directoryYahoo!, founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo, launches Yahoo! Directory. It becomes the first popular Web directory.{{cite web |title=What is first mover? |url=https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/first-mover |website=SearchCIO |publisher=TechTarget |access-date=5 September 2019 |date=September 2005}}
New web search engineInfoseek is launched.
MarchNew web search engineThe World-Wide Web Worm is released. It is claimed to have been created in September 1993, at which time there did not exist any crawler-based search engine, but it is not the earliest at the time of its actual release. It supports Perl-based regular expressions.
April20New web search engineThe WebCrawler search engine, created by Brian Pinkerton at the University of Washington, is released. Unlike its predecessors, it allows users to search for any word in any webpage, which has become the standard for all major search engines since.
JulyNew web search engineLycos, a web search engine, is released. It began as a research project by Michael Loren Mauldin of Carnegie Mellon University's main Pittsburgh campus.
rowspan="4"|1995

|

New search engineYahoo! Search is launched. It is a search function that allows users to search Yahoo! Directory.{{cite book |last1=Oppitz |first1=Marcus |last2=Tomsu |first2=Peter |title=Inventing the Cloud Century: How Cloudiness Keeps Changing Our Life, Economy and Technology |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-61161-7 |page=238 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vrEvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA238}}{{cite web |title=Yahoo! Search |url=http://www.yahoo.com/search.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961128070718/http://www.yahoo.com/search.html |archive-date=28 November 1996 |website=Yahoo! |access-date=5 September 2019 |date=28 November 1996}} It becomes the first popular search engine on the Web. However, it is not a true Web crawler search engine.
New search engineSearch.ch is launched. It is a search engine and web portal for Switzerland.{{Cite web |title=search.ch AG in Zürich |url=http://www.moneyhouse.ch/en/company/search-ch-ag-12035081801 |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=Moneyhouse |language=en}}
New web directoryLookSmart is released. It competes with Yahoo! as a web directory, and the competition makes both directories more inclusive.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
DecemberWeb search engine supporting natural language queriesAltavista is launched. This is a first among web search engines in many ways: it has unlimited bandwidth, allows natural language queries, has search tips, and allows people to add or delete their domains in 24 hours.
rowspan="4"| 1996|New web search engineRobin Li developed the RankDex site-scoring algorithm for search engines results page rankingGreenberg, Andy, [https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1005/technology-baidu-robin-li-man-whos-beating-google.html "The Man Who's Beating Google"], Forbes magazine, October 5, 2009Yanhong Li, "Toward a Qualitative Search Engine," IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 24–29, July/Aug. 1998, {{doi|10.1109/4236.707687}}[http://www.rankdex.com/about.html "About: RankDex"], rankdex.com and received a US patent for the technology.USPTO,

[https://patents.google.com/patent/US5920859 "Hypertext Document Retrieval System and Method"], US Patent number: 5920859, Inventor: Yanhong Li, Filing date: Feb 5, 1997, Issue date: Jul 6, 1999 It was the first search engine that used hyperlinks to measure the quality of websites it was indexing,{{cite web |title=Baidu Vs Google: The Twins Of Search Compared |url=https://fourweekmba.com/baidu-vs-google/ |website=FourWeekMBA |access-date=16 June 2019 |date=18 September 2018}} predating the very similar algorithm patent filed by Google two years later in 1998.{{cite web |last1=Altucher |first1=James |title=10 Unusual Things About Google |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesaltucher/2011/03/18/10-unusual-things-about-google-also-the-worst-vc-decision-i-ever-made/ |date=March 18, 2011 |website=Forbes |access-date=16 June 2019}} Larry Page referenced Li's work as a citation in some of his U.S. patents for PageRank.{{cite web |title = Method for node ranking in a linked database |url = https://patents.google.com/patent/US6285999 |publisher = Google Patents |access-date = 19 October 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015185034/http://www.google.com/patents/US6285999 |archive-date = 15 October 2015 }} Li later used his Rankdex technology for the Baidu search engine.

January–MarchNew web search engineLarry Page and Sergey Brin begin working on BackRub, the predecessor to Google Search. The crawler begins activity in March.
MayNew web search engineInktomi releases its HotBot search engine.
OctoberNew web search engineGary Culliss and Steven Yang begin work at MIT on the popularity engine, a version of the Direct Hit Technologies search engine that ranks results across users according to the selections made during previous searches.
rowspan="3"|1997

| April

New natural language-based web search engineAsk Jeeves, a natural language web search engine, that aims to rank links by popularity, is released. It would later become Ask.com.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/about/company/history/|title = Our history in depth|date = September 15, 1997|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
rowspan="2"|September

|15

New web search engineThe domain Google.com is registered. Soon, Google Search is available to the public from this domain (around 1998).
23New web search engine (non-English)Arkady Volozh and Ilya Segalovich launch their Russian web search engine Yandex and publicly present it at the Softool exhibition in Moscow. The initial development is by Comptek; Yandex would become a separate company in 2000.[http://company.yandex.com/general_info/history.xml About Yandex — History of Yandex]. Retrieved May 24, 2011. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200119072632/http://company.yandex.com/general_info/history.xml?ncrnd=715 Archived copy].
rowspan="3"| 1998

|June

5New web directoryGnuhoo, a web directory project by Rich Skrenta and Bob Truel, both employees of Sun Microsystems, launches.{{cite web|url=http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=98/06/23/0849239| access-date = April 27, 2007|work=Slashdot | title=The GnuHoo BooBoo| date = 23 June 1998}} It would later be renamed the Open Directory Project.
July–SeptemberNew web search portalMSN launches a search portal called MSN Search, using search results from Inktomi. After many changes to the backend search engine, MSN would start developing in-house search technology in 2005, and later change its name to Bing in June 2009.{{Cite web |date=2005-02-01 |title=MSN Launches New Internet Search Service Designed to Give More-Precise Answers in Less Time |url=https://news.microsoft.com/2005/02/01/msn-launches-new-internet-search-service-designed-to-give-more-precise-answers-in-less-time/ |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Stories |language=en-US}}
AugustNew web search engineDirect Hit Technologies releases their popularity search engine in partnership with HotBot, providing more relevant results based on prior user search activity.{{cite web|url=https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/news/2048192/the-search-engine-update-august-19-1998-number-35|title = Direct Hit Debuts On HotBot|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)|publisher = Search Engine Update|date = August 19, 1998}}
1999MayNew web search engineAlltheWeb, based on the Ph.D. thesis of Tor Egge at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, titled FTP Search, launches. The engine is launched by Egge's company Fast Search & Transfer, established on July 16, 1997.
2000January1New web search portalBaidu, a Chinese company that would grow to provide many search-related services, launches. It was founded by Robin Li, who previously developed RankDex in 1996.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
2002–03Web search business consolidationYahoo! buys Inktomi (2002) and then Overture Services Inc. (2003) which has already bought AlltheWeb and Altavista. Starting 2003, Yahoo! starts using its own Yahoo Slurp web crawler to power Yahoo! Search. Yahoo! Search combines the technologies of all Yahoo!'s acquisitions (until 2002, Yahoo! had been using Google to power its search).{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
2004–05November (2004) – February (2005)Change in backend providersMicrosoft starts using its own indexer and crawler for MSN Search rather than using blended results from LookSmart and Inktomi.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
2004DecemberUser experienceGoogle Suggest is introduced as a Google Labs feature.{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/googlecom-finally-gets-google-suggest-feature-14626|title = Google.com Finally Gets Google Suggest Feature|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)|publisher = Search Engine Land|date = August 25, 2008|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/at-loss-for-words.html|title = At a loss for words?|date = August 25, 2008|publisher = Official Google Blog|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
rowspan="2"| 2005

|January

Webmaster toolsTo combat link spam, Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft collectively introduce the nofollow attribute.{{cite web|url=http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change|title = Google Algorithm Change History|publisher = SEOmoz|access-date = February 1, 2014}}
OctoberNew web search engineOverture Services Inc. owner Bill Gross launches the Snap search engine, with many features such as display of search volumes and other information, as well as sophisticated auto-completion and related terms display. It is unable to get traction and soon goes out of business.{{cite web|url=http://websearch.about.com/od/enginesanddirectories/a/snap.htm|title=Snap - A New Kind of Search Engine|last=Boswell|first=Wendy|publisher=About.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051216121604/http://websearch.about.com/od/enginesanddirectories/a/snap.htm|archive-date=December 16, 2005|access-date=February 11, 2014}}
2006December23 (proposed)rowspan="2" |New human-curated web search engineWikia Search (Wikia), a search engine based on human curation.{{cite web|last=Doran|first=James|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2517026,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061227024801/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2517026,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 27, 2006|title=Founder of Wikipedia plans search engine to rival Google|work=The Times |location=London |date=December 23, 2006|access-date=January 6, 2007 }}
2007

|January

31 (re-proposed)Wikia Search [http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197003494 Wales: Search Wikia Will Succeed Where Google Cannot], InformationWeek, February 5, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2007.
rowspan="2"|2008

|January

28New web search engineCuil, a web search engine created by ex-Googlers that uses picture thumbnails to display search results, launches.Liedtke, Michael, [http://www.nbcnews.com/id/25884709 Ex-Google engineers debut 'Cuil' way to search]{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Associated Press, 28 July 2008, retrieved 13 Dec 2009 It would later shut down on September 17, 2010.{{cite news|author=Michael Arrington|title=Cuil Goes Down, And We Hear It's Down For Good|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/17/cuil-goes-down-and-we-hear-its-down-for-good/|work=TechCrunch|date=2010-09-17}}{{cite news|author=Devindra, Hardawar|title=Supposed Google-killer Cuil's reign of terror may finally be over|url=https://venturebeat.com/2010/09/17/supposed-google-killer-cuils-reign-of-terror-may-finally-be-over/|work=VentureBeat|date=2010-09-17}}{{cite news |title=Cuil is Stone Cold – Another 'Google Killer' Bites the Dust |newspaper=SearchEngineWatch |date=2010-09-18 |url=http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/100918-132701 }}
September25New web search engineDuckDuckGo (DDG), a web search engine focused on protecting searchers' privacy by not profiling its users, launches.{{Cite web|url=http://ostatic.com/blog/duckduckgo-a-new-search-engine-built-from-open-source|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317053629/http://ostatic.com/blog/duckduckgo-a-new-search-engine-built-from-open-source|archive-date=2011-03-17|title=DuckDuckGo: A New Search Engine Built from Open Source|date=2011-03-17|access-date=2019-03-20}}{{Cite web|url=https://duckduckgo.com/privacy|title=DuckDuckGo Privacy|website=DuckDuckGo|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-20}}
rowspan="5" |2009

|March–May

14Web search EOLshutdown of Wikia Search [http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10207896-2.html Wales giving up on Wikia Search]
July29Web search engine consolidationMicrosoft and Yahoo! announce that they have made a ten-year deal in which the Yahoo! search engine would be replaced by Bing. Yahoo! will get to keep 88% of the revenue from all search ad sales on its site for the first five years of the deal, and have the right to sell adverts on some Microsoft sites. Yahoo! Search will still maintain its own user interface, but will eventually feature "Powered by Bing™" branding.{{cite news |title=Microsoft and Yahoo seal web deal |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8174763.stm |date=29 July 2009 |access-date=2009-07-29 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news |title=REFILE-UPDATE 1-Microsoft, Yahoo in 10-year Web search deal |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/CMPSRV/idUSN2921665320090729 |date=Jul 29, 2009 |access-date=2009-07-29 |author=Tiffany Wu |author2=Derek Caney |publisher= Thomson Reuters }}
August10 (announced)Search algorithm updateNamed Caffeine, it promises faster crawling, expansion of the index, and a near-real-time integration of indexing and ranking.{{cite web|url=http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/08/help-test-some-next-generation.html|title = Help test some next-generation infrastructure|date = August 10, 2009|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Google Webmaster Central Blog}}{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2009/08/10/google-caffeine/|title = Google Caffeine: A Detailed Test of the New Google|last = Parr|first = Ben|author-link = Ben Parr|date = August 10, 2009|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Mashable}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/08/10/caffeine-its-google-on-red-bull-or-something/|title = Caffeine: It's Google On Red Bull, Or Something|last = Siegler|first = MG|date = August 10, 2009|access-date = February 2, 2014|work = TechCrunch}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/28/google-caffeine-faster-search-index/|title = Google Is About To Get Caffeinated With A Faster Search Index|last = Schoenfeld|first = Erick|date = December 28, 2009|access-date = February 2, 2014|work = TechCrunch}}
September1New web search engineThe search engine ImHalal is launched built on top of social-cultural Islamic values.{{cite news |last=Cholia |first=Ami |date=2009-09-01 |title=Halal Search Engine Launches |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/01/halal-search-engine-launc_n_273951.html |accessdate=2009-09-18 |publisher=Huffington Post}}
December

|7

|New web search engine

|The search engine Ecosia is launched.{{cite web |last=Donoghue |first=Andrew |date=4 December 2009 |title=Microsoft-Backed Green Search Engine Attacks Google |url=http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/e-innovation/microsoft-backed-green-search-engine-attacks-google-2661 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723125050/http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/e-innovation/microsoft-backed-green-search-engine-attacks-google-2661 |archive-date=23 July 2015 |access-date=23 July 2015}}

rowspan="3"|2010

|June

8Search algorithm updateCaffeine rollout completed and made live {{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/our-new-search-index-caffeine.html|title = Our new search index: Caffeine|date = June 8, 2010|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Official Google Blog}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/06/08/google-caffeine/|title = Caffeine: Google Finally Brews Its New Pot Of Web Results — 50% Fresher|date = June 8, 2010|access-date = February 2, 2014|work = TechCrunch|last = Siegler|first = MG}}{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/our-new-search-index-caffeine.html|title = Google's New Indexing Infrastructure "Caffeine" Now Live|last = Fox|first = Vanessa|author-link = Vanessa Fox|date = June 8, 2010|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
September8User experienceGoogle launches Google Instant, described as a search-before-you-type feature: as users are typing, Google predicts the user's whole search query (using the same technology as in Google Suggest, later called the autocomplete feature) and instantaneously shows results for the top prediction.{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/search-now-faster-than-speed-of-type.html|title = Search: now faster than the speed of type|date = September 8, 2010|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Official Google Blog}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/08/google-instant-its-search-before-you-type/|title = Google Instant: It Searches Before You Type|last = Tsotsis|first = Alexia|date = September 8, 2010|access-date = February 2, 2014|work = TechCrunch}}{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/google-instant-behind-scenes.html|title = Google Instant, behind the scenes |date = September 9, 2010|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Official Google Blog}} Google claims that this is estimated to save 2–5 seconds per search query.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/instant/about.html|title = About Google Instant |access-date = February 2, 2014}} SEO commentators initially believe that this will have a major effect on search engine optimization, but soon revise downward their estimate of the impact.{{cite web|url=http://moz.com/blog/google-instant-fewer-changes-to-seo-than-the-average-algo-update|last = Fishkin|first = Rand|publisher = SEOmoz|title = Google Instant: Fewer Changes to SEO than the Average Algo Update|date = September 21, 2010|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
November1New web search engineBlekko, a search engine that uses slashtags to allow people to search in more targeted categories, launches.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704477904575586551374128996?mod=googlenews_wsj|title = Start-Up Aims at Google: Blekko.com Taps Users to Narrow Results, Avoid Spam Sites|newspaper = Wall Street Journal|date = November 1, 2010|access-date = February 11, 2014|last = Efrati|first = Amir}}
rowspan="2"|2011

|February

23–24Search algorithm updateGoogle launches Google Panda, a major update affecting 12% of search queries. The update continues with the earlier work of cracking down on spam, content farms, scrapers, and websites with a high ad-to-content ratio.{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in.html|title = Finding more high-quality sites in search|publisher = Official Google Blog|date = February 24, 2011|last1 = Singhal|first1 = Amit|author-link = Amit Singhal|last2 = Cutts|first2 = Matt|author-link2 = Matt Cutts|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/business/2011/03/the-panda-that-hates-farms/|title = TED 2011: The 'Panda' That Hates Farms: A Q&A With Google's Top Search Engineers|last = Levy|first = Steven|author-link = Steven Levy|date = March 3, 2011|access-date = February 2, 2014|magazine = Wired Magazine}}{{cite web|publisher=Search Engine Land|url=http://searchengineland.com/how-google-panda-places-updates-created-a-rollercoaster-ride-for-iyp-traffic-101683|title=How Google Panda & Places Updates Created A Rollercoaster Ride For IYP Traffic|date = November 21, 2011|access-date = February 2, 2014}} The rollout is gradual over several months, and Panda will see many further updates.
June2Webmaster toolsGoogle, Yahoo!, and Microsoft announce Schema.org, a joint initiative that supports a richer range of tags that websites can use to convey better information.{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/schema-org-google-bing-yahoo-unite-79554|title = Schema.org: Google, Bing & Yahoo Unite To Make Search Listings Richer Through Structured Data|last = Fox|first= Vanessa|author-link = Vanessa Fox|date = June 2, 2011|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-schemaorg-search-engines.html|title = Introducing schema.org: Search engines come together for a richer web|publisher = Official Google Blog|last = Guha|first = Ramanathan|date = June 2, 2011|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/06/02/google-yahoo-and-bing-collaborate-on-structured-data-to-make-search-listings-richer/|title = Google, Yahoo, And Bing Collaborate On Structured Data To Make Search Listings Richer|last = Empson|first = Rip|date = June 2, 2011|access-date = February 2, 2014|work = TechCrunch}}
rowspan="4"|2012

|January

10Search algorithm update, user experienceGoogle launches Search Plus Your World, a deep integration of one's social data into search.{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/search-plus-your-world.html|title = Search, plus Your World|date = January 10, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Official Google Blog|last = Singhal|first = Amit|author-link = Amit Singhal}}{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2012/01/10/google-launches-social-search/|title = Google Merges Search and Google+ Into Social Media Juggernaut|last = Ulanoff|first = Lance|date = January 10, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Mashable}} SEO commentators are critical of how the search results favor Google+ and push it to users, compared to more widely used social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/examples-google-search-plus-drive-facebook-twitter-crazy-107554|title = Real-Life Examples Of How Google's "Search Plus" Pushes Google+ Over Relevancy|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)|date = January 11, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web|url=http://marketingland.com/twitter-google-wwe-bing-3206|title = Twitter Cries Foul Over Google "@WWE" Search, But Google Still Beats Bing|date = January 11, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)|publisher = Marketing Land}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/01/10/search-google-plus-not-your-world/|title = "Search Plus Your World" Is Just About Google+, Not Your World|date = January 10, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|last = Lardinois|first = Frederic|work = TechCrunch}}{{cite web|url=http://mashable.com/2012/01/13/google-social-search-too-much-too-soon/|title = Why Google's Social Search Is Too Much, Too Soon|last = Kessler|first = Sarah|date = January 13, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Mashable}}
April24Search algorithm updateGoogle launches its "Webspam update" which would soon become known as Google Penguin.{{cite web|url=http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2012/04/another-step-to-reward-high-quality.html|title = Another step to reward high-quality sites|last = Cutts|first = Matt|author-link = Matt Cutts|date = April 24, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Inside Search: The official Google Search blog}}{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/the-penguin-update-googles-webspam-algorithm-gets-official-name-119623|title = The Penguin Update: Google's Webspam Algorithm Gets Official Name|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)|date = April 26, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/penguin-update-recovery-tips-advice-119650|title = Google Penguin Update Recovery Tips & Advice|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)|date = April 26, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-talks-penguin-update-recover-negative-seo-120463|title = Two Weeks In, Google Talks Penguin Update, Ways To Recover & Negative SEO|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)|date = May 10, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Search Engine Land}}
rowspan="2"|May

|10

User experienceMicrosoft announces a redesign of its Bing search engine that includes "Sidebar", a social feature that searches users' social networks for information relevant to the search query.{{cite web|last=Goldman|first=David|title=Bing fires at Google with new social search|url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/05/10/technology/bing-redesign/index.htm?source=cnn_bin|website=CNN Money|access-date=10 May 2012|date=10 May 2012}}
16Search algorithm updateGoogle starts rolling out Knowledge Graph, used by Google internally to store semantic relationships between objects. Google now begins displaying supplemental information about objects related to search queries on the side.{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not.html|title = Introducing the Knowledge Graph: things, not strings|last = Singhal|first= Amit|date = May 16, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = The Official Google Blog}}{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-launches-knowledge-graph-121585|title = Google Launches Knowledge Graph To Provide Answers, Not Just Links|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|date = May 16, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|publisher = Search Engine Land}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/05/16/google-just-got-a-whole-lot-smarter-launches-its-knowledge-graph/|title = Google Just Got A Whole Lot Smarter, Launches Its Knowledge Graph|last = Lardinois|first = Frederic|date = May 16, 2012|access-date = February 2, 2014|work = TechCrunch}}
rowspan="3"| 2013

|April

|13

|New web search engine

|Pipilika, first Bangla search engine, launched.{{Cite web|last=প্রতিবেদক|first=নিজস্ব|title=পিপীলিকার পথচলা শুরু|url=https://www.prothomalo.com/old-prothomalo/পিপীলিকার-পথচলা-শুরু|access-date=2021-03-20|website=Prothomalo|date=13 April 2013 |language=bn}}

July4New web search engineFrench search engine Qwant launched and operated from Paris. It claims that it does not employ user tracking or personalize search results in order to avoid trapping users in a filter bubble. The search engine is available in 26 languages.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
September26Search algorithm updateGoogle releases Google Hummingbird, a core algorithm update that may enable a more semantic search and more effective use of the Knowledge Graph in the future.{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816|title = FAQ: All About The New Google "Hummingbird" Algorithm|date = September 26, 2013|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|author-link = Danny Sullivan (technologist)|publisher = Search Engine Land|access-date = February 2, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-17268.html|title = Some Reports Of An August 21/22 Google Update|publisher = Search Engine Roundtable|date = August 23, 2013|last = Schwartz|first = Barry|author-link = Barry Schwartz (technologist)|access-date = February 2, 2014}}
rowspan="2"|2014

|January

|22

|New web search engine

|Searx, a free and open-source metasearch engine, is launched.{{Cite web |last=Tauber |first=Adam |title=searx: A privacy-respecting, hackable metasearch engine |website=GitHub |url=https://github.com/searx/searx}} Searx puts an emphasis on privacy.{{Cite web |date=2016-07-26 |title=Searx: Die konfigurierbare Suchmaschine, die deine Privatsphäre respektiert |url=https://t3n.de/news/searx-konfigurierbare-suchmaschine-729236/ |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=t3n Magazin |language=de}}

July

|24

|Search algorithm update

|Google introduces Google Pigeon, with the goal of increasing the ranking of local listings in a search.{{Cite web |date=2014-07-25 |title="Pigeon" Algorithm Update Released Thursday 7/24/14 |url=https://www.searchinfluence.com/blog/pigeon-algorithm-update-released-thursday-72414/ |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=Search Influence}}{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Barry |date=2014-07-25 |title=Pigeon: Search Engine Land's Name For The New Google Local Search Update |url=https://searchengineland.com/pigeon-search-engine-lands-name-new-google-local-search-update-197932 |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=Search Engine Land |language=en}}

2021

|June

|21

|New web search engine

|Brave Software, Inc., the developer of the Brave web browser, launches their own search engine, called Brave Search.{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Ian Carlos |date=2021-06-23 |title=Brave Search is a new alternative to Google built on its own index |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/23/22547158/brave-search-beta-browser-private-independent-index |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=The Verge |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Lomas |first=Natasha |date=2021-06-22 |title=Brave's nontracking search engine is now in beta |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/22/braves-non-tracking-search-engine-is-now-in-beta/ |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}

|

2024

|July

|26

|New web search engine

|OpenAI launches SearchGPT, a prototype search engine that combines traditional search engine features with generative AI capabilities. SearchGPT's architecture is built on the principles of transformer models, which use self-

attention mechanisms to process and generate text.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-26 |title=SearchGPT Prototype|url=https://openai.com/index/searchgpt-prototype/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=OpenAI |language=en}}

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Timelines of computing}}

Web search engines

Web search engines