Re Google: not doing paid placement probably helped improve results more than PageRank. Also in terms of actually helping users, fast response and a sparse sear

Re Google: not doing paid placement probably helped improve results more than PageRank. Also in terms of actually helping users, fast response and a sparse search-only page (not a cluttered portal), helped even more. Though I'd love to think The Algorithm was key, their main idea was to put serving customers before monetizing them.