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Google Achieves Significant Business, Growth Milestones in 2000

Search Technology Developer Ends Second Full Year of Business With Web’s Largest Index, Major Partnership Deals, Expanded Services

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California--February 1, 2001 – Google Inc., developer of the award-winning Google search engine, ended its second full year of business, having achieved record advances in the size and scope of its index. In 2000, Google signed agreements with leading portals and websites in the United States, Europe and Asia; launched new advertising programs to complement its growing licensing business; and introduced a number of expanded search services and features.

Throughout 2000, users consistently ranked Google first in independent user satisfaction and loyalty surveys, while traffic to the Google destination site www.google.com increased steadily at a 20 percent clip each month. The company added search capabilities in 26 languages and gained momentum with users globally. Google ended the year with listings in Media Metrix’s Top 50 U.S. and Global Web and Digital Media Properties, and Nielsen/Netratings’ Top 25 Web sites At-Home and At-Work studies.

Google also continued to receive industry honors and accolades for technology innovation and excellence, including two Webby Awards, a WIRED Reader Raves Award, a PC Magazine (U.K.) Best Internet Innovation Award and numerous citations from industry publications and organizations.

"2000 was a tremendous year for growth in all areas of our business," said Larry Page, Google CEO and co-founder. "We’re overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response we’ve received from our users and customers around the world, and we’re deeply honored by the industry’s acknowledgment of our achievements."

Web Largest Index, Traffic Growth

In 2000, Google surpassed all other search engines in delivering the largest index available on the World Wide Web. Supported by an infrastructure of more than 6,000 Linux-based computer servers in multiple data centers by the end of the year, Google’s index comprised more than 1.3 billion indexed web pages. Traffic to the company’s destination site continually broke new records, and by the end of the year, increased to more than 27 million searches per day. Combined with traffic from its customers’ sites, Google provided more than 60 million searches per day in 2000, achieving a 3,180 percent increase from the start of the year.

Business Partnerships and Growth

While traffic to Google escalated, the company successfully launched two advertising programs, and expanded its search service offerings. Google’s Premium Sponsorship Program provided more than 350 advertisers highly effective text-based advertising that targeted their selected keywords with users’ search queries. Google’s fully automated AdWords program, launched in November, quickly became popular among thousands of small businesses. At the end of 2000, advertisers at the Google destination site consistently witnessed an average click-through rate four to five times higher than the industry standard for banner ads.

Google further expanded Google WebSearch and Google SiteSearch licensing program services in 2000 to include a suite of automated options and additional capabilities. By yearend, Google powered nearly 120 corporate customers in more than 30 countries spanning five continents, and included Google WebSearch licensing agreements with Yahoo! and its international properties; NetEase in China; Yam.com in Taiwan; and NEC’s BIGLOBE in Japan. Bellweather customers, including AOL/Netscape in the United States and Virgilio in Italy, renewed agreements with Google in 2000, while Cisco Systems, the US Department of Energy and others signed agreements to receive Google SiteSearch capabilities at their web sites.

Expanded Services, International Reach

In 2000, by being the first to develop the technology that translated traditional HTML pages into text-only wireless application protocol (WAP) information, Google’s search capabilities became available beyond the desktop for wireless devices. By yearend, Google had signed agreements with many leaders in the emerging class of wireless devices, handheld computers and Internet appliances such as Nextel web-ready phones, Palm handheld computers, pagers, ePod Internet appliances, and OmniSky wireless modems.

By the end of 2000, Google also had gained a significant a global presence. Available in 26 languages, powering many portals and destination sites throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Americas, Google witnessed an unprecedented 360 percent growth in six months in non-English search queries. At the end of the year, searches in German led the pack, followed by searches in Japanese and French.

Whether anticipating the increasing expectation for instant information on demand or providing new ways to make searching on the Internet easier, Google expects to continue to innovate, expand and enrich the search experience on any platform, and ultimately strive to set the standards for the next generation in search technology in 2001.

About Google Inc.

With the largest index of websites available on the World Wide Web and the industry’s most advanced search technology, Google Inc. delivers the fastest and easiest way to find relevant information on the Internet. Google’s technological innovations have earned the company numerous industry awards and citations. A growing number of companies worldwide, including Yahoo!, AOL/Netscape, and Cisco Systems, rely on Google to power search on their websites. A privately held company based in Mountain View, Calif., Google’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital. More information about Google can be found on the Google site at www.google.com.

Google Contacts:

Hilary Chalmers
(650) 930-3589
hilary@google.com

Cindy McCaffrey
(650) 930-3524
cindy@google.com

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Google is a trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

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