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In my opinion, the success of a search engine depends entirely on its name. Look at the search engines that have failed: AltaVista, Cliqz, Cuil, Dogpile, (dozen

In my opinion, the success of a search engine depends entirely on its name. Look at the search engines that have failed: AltaVista, Cliqz, Cuil, Dogpile, (dozens more). They all have awful names that don't convey the idea of search. Compare it to a name like Google: it rolls of the tongue, is easy to verb-ify ("google it" -- no one would ever say "cliqz it"), and the actual letterforms are pleasing to the eye. Bing is a pretty good name too - even shorter at one syllable, and a pretty alright verb. It follows that Bing is still around and arguably the #2 product in the space. "Why don't you Yahoo it?" - another awkward sentence, another search engine that failed. Even DDG has taken steps to shorten their brand to "duck" (duck.com), and there's something pleasing about saying "duck it" :)

eterm 6y ago
That's just bias because you've had 20 years of "google" embedded in your brain. When launching google sounded more awkward than Yahoo did at the time.
- akersten 6y ago
  The word didn't become any easier or harder to say from the moment it was launched. It was clear how to pronounce it. How do you pronounce Cuil?
- furyofantares 6y ago
  On the other hand if google had stuck with their first name -- BackRub -- I do wonder if they'd have had quite so much success. And I find it amazing that I wonder this given the experience of using google initially was like you had grown a super power over night. But maybe usage would have spread slower and given competitors more time to catch up.
  - mthoms 6y ago
    The BackRub name offered some.. er.. "unique" marketing copy opportunities ;-) For a "happy ending" to your search, try "I'm feeling lucky" on BackRub.com today!
wpietri 6y ago
I'll note that the "Google" name doesn't convey the idea of search. So even by your own standards it's not very good. I also suspect you weren't around for Google's debut. The name wasn't what made it better than its many competitors. It was the enormously better product. If anything, they succeeded despite the name, which was goofy-sounding and an obscure nerd reference that maybe 1% of their audience would get. And since then they've stayed in the lead through continuous product innovation, not because nobody could think of a better name.
- woodrowbarlow 6y ago
  "google", the name, was inspired by "googol", the SI-prefix, meaning 10^100. so "google" means, more or less, "a massive amount" -- which is perfect for a search tool. there's also the "goggles" connection.
  - wpietri 6y ago
    Yes, that's what I meant when I said "obscure nerd reference that maybe 1% of their audience would get". For what it's worth, I don't think it's an SI prefix, just a named large number: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googol
  - catalogia 6y ago
    If 'googol' is in the general public's lexicon now (doubtful) it certainly wasn't back then.
  - Deimorz 6y ago
    It wasn't really "inspired", the person looking up potential domain names just spelled it wrong and they decided to stick with it: https://graphics.stanford.edu/~dk/google_name_origin.html https://graphics.stanford.edu/~dk/google_name_origin.html
- seph-reed 6y ago
  I remember the first time I heard of Google, and the first time I used it being many months apart. I only remember that because of the name managing to stick having never seen the actual search engine.

eterm 6y ago

That's just bias because you've had 20 years of "google" embedded in your brain. When launching google sounded more awkward than Yahoo did at the time.

akersten 6y ago
The word didn't become any easier or harder to say from the moment it was launched. It was clear how to pronounce it. How do you pronounce Cuil?
furyofantares 6y ago
On the other hand if google had stuck with their first name -- BackRub -- I do wonder if they'd have had quite so much success. And I find it amazing that I wonder this given the experience of using google initially was like you had grown a super power over night. But maybe usage would have spread slower and given competitors more time to catch up.
- mthoms 6y ago
  The BackRub name offered some.. er.. "unique" marketing copy opportunities ;-) For a "happy ending" to your search, try "I'm feeling lucky" on BackRub.com today!

wpietri 6y ago

I'll note that the "Google" name doesn't convey the idea of search. So even by your own standards it's not very good. I also suspect you weren't around for Google's debut. The name wasn't what made it better than its many competitors. It was the enormously better product. If anything, they succeeded despite the name, which was goofy-sounding and an obscure nerd reference that maybe 1% of their audience would get. And since then they've stayed in the lead through continuous product innovation, not because nobody could think of a better name.

woodrowbarlow 6y ago
"google", the name, was inspired by "googol", the SI-prefix, meaning 10^100. so "google" means, more or less, "a massive amount" -- which is perfect for a search tool. there's also the "goggles" connection.
- wpietri 6y ago
  Yes, that's what I meant when I said "obscure nerd reference that maybe 1% of their audience would get". For what it's worth, I don't think it's an SI prefix, just a named large number: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googol
- catalogia 6y ago
  If 'googol' is in the general public's lexicon now (doubtful) it certainly wasn't back then.
- Deimorz 6y ago
  It wasn't really "inspired", the person looking up potential domain names just spelled it wrong and they decided to stick with it: https://graphics.stanford.edu/~dk/google_name_origin.html https://graphics.stanford.edu/~dk/google_name_origin.html
seph-reed 6y ago
I remember the first time I heard of Google, and the first time I used it being many months apart. I only remember that because of the name managing to stick having never seen the actual search engine.