Google Turns 15: launches new search algorithm

Google Doodle Lets You Whack a Piñata
(Plus: Fun Easter Egg)
Google is celebrating its 15th birthday with a piñata doodle appearing on its home page.
Users hit a swinging piñata with a stick using the space bar to release sweets and earn points.
The internet search company also announced on its birthday that it had updated its search algorithm to make it more responsive to user requests.
The overhaul came as part of an update called Hummingbird that Google has gradually rolled out in the past month without disclosing the modifications.
The changes could have a major impact on traffic to websites. Hummingbird represents the most dramatic alteration to Google's search engine since it revised the way it indexes websites three years ago as part of a redesign called Caffeine, according to Amit Singhal, a senior vice-president for the company. He estimates that the redesign will affect the analysis of about 90%of the search requests that Google gets.
Any reshuffling of Google's search rankings can have sweeping ramifications because they steer so much of the internet's traffic. Google fields about two out of every three search requests in the US and handles an even larger volume in some parts of Europe. The changes could also drive up the price of Google ads tied to search requests if websites whose rankings are demoted under the new system feel they have to buy the marketing messages to attract traffic. . . . .
Read More: The Guardian and at TimeTech