So good, I made it my homepage! (google.com)

Member Name: Lauren06

Product:	google.com
Date:	03/09/07 (80 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: brings up best search results, loads of features and options

Disadvantages: None

I remember the first time I used Google a few years ago having never heard of it. My friend and I were searching something and had tried all the search engines we could think of, then she brought up Google as a sort of last resort. I didn't know then that it would become my homepage and one of, if not the most popular search engine around today.

Google was founded in 1998 and started off as a research project two years before that. Since then it has expanded to offer not just a brilliant search engine but also a product search, a useful toolbar, Google video and Google Earth to name just a few of Google's available programmes and features. The homepage has a simple layout, with the multicoloured Google logo at the top above some search options like web, images and a new maps feature which narrow down your search options. The Google logo also changes on certain days for example during the Winter Olympics last year there was artwork of the different sports around the word Google. The search bar is below this, and below that are two options to click once you type your search item - Google search, which brings up the results Google finds, and I'm Feeling Lucky which will go straight to the first website available in your search results. I don't use this often unless I know what site I'm looking for, since I find it more useful to go through the list of results however it is a great feature.

Below these options you can either check a box for results within the UK (on google.co.uk) or from the web which brings up sites from all over the world. There are more options to click on below this: Advertising Programmes (you'll notice that with search results there are also paid advertisements that match your search) Business Solutions, About Google, Go to Google.com (the US site) and below all that is Make Google Your Homepage. As well as all these options you can also use their advanced search which allows you to find results only in a certain language or results without certain words etc. This really helps you find what you're looking for faster. You can also change your search preferences, and here you can filter results so it's safe for kids to use and you can set a preferred language.

Language Tools allows you to alter search results to be in another language as well as giving you the acces to Googles worldwide homepages which range alphabetically from United Arab Emirates to Zimbabwe. If you happen to be studying languages like me, then this is a very useful feature, and it's also great if English isn't your first language and you'd prefer to search in your own language. The homepage languages also features some funny languages such as Elmer Fudd! I always find that Google brings up excellent results and it has everything I need so I keep it as my homepage. Google offers quick search options or more advanced preferences which take a bit longer but help you find exactly what you need.

The product search (formerly known as Froogle) gives you results from different online shops a bit like a price comparison site only not as thourough, but it does help when you're looking for something you want to buy online. Maps, the newest feature allows you to search for a place anywhere in the world and view it as an on screen map. Overall, Google really does have everything you need in a search engine and more: The Google toolbar allows you to make Google searches from any webpage as it stays at the top of your screen near the address bar and it also offers a bookmarking option and a pop-up blocker among other useful things. Google Earth is a free downloadable service that gives satellite images of any place in the world, with larger cities being shown up clearer than smaller towns.

Google has gone from being a project to one of the biggest company names around today. I even find myself using it to acces websites I visit everyday as it's quicker than typing in the homepage in the address bar! In my view, it's the best search engine currently available so I highly recommend you use it as a first option for searching.

Summary: the best search engine out there