While there are many people who will argue that web browsers and search engines are the same thing, they're not. If you're ready to learn what the difference between Google Search and Google Chrome is, then read on.
The Main Differences Between Google and Google Chrome
Search engines and web browsers are inextricably linked together. People often refer to "Google", but they really mean Google Search, that is the search engine. Google Chrome is a web browser, which uses the search engine to help the user search for the information that they're looking for, by displaying a list of search results. The browser is typically software installed on your computer or other device.
The main difference between Google Chrome and Google (the web browser vs search engine) is one of functionality. Google is a broad platform providing multiple products or tools that include a browser, email, maps, office and phone service. Whereas, Google Chrome is one of the tools and is used as a web browser for searching and providing information.
What is Google -The Company?
Google LLC is one of the most popular company names in the world and is one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.
It is an American multinational technology company that provides online search engine and other web-based products and services, including advertising technologies such as Google AdWords, software development tools such as Google Apps for Work, and cloud computing services.
The Search Engine
Google's search engine is their core 'free' product and was originally created by Larry Page, Sergey Brin in 1997. It's hosted on the most popular website on the planet, Google.com, with over 3.5 billion searches a day.
The search engine is designed to search for information on the Internet and displays the most popular and relevant results first. For instance, a user can enter a search query into Google, like "plumbers near me". The search results returned are ranked in accordance with the "PageRank" algorithm, which is a priority ranking system. The search algorithm acts as the brains of the search engine, deciding what to show the user. This allows you see the best search results first, so you can get to the information you need quickly.
Google also has many useful search tools to create an interactive user experience, for example, Google Shopping, Google Weather, Google Flights, Google Finance, as well as currency and unit conversions, and more.
What is Google Chrome?
Google Chrome is a web browser released in 2008 by Google, and quickly became one of the world's most popular browsers. In fact, it has 68% of the browser market share.
This internet browser was first created for Microsoft Windows, using the free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Later, it's cross-platform support expanded to include Linux, iOS, macOS and Android, where it became the default inbuilt browser. While the Webkit framework was the original rendering engine, today Google Chrome uses the Blink engine.
There are of course alternative browsers, like Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer, but Chrome remains the worlds most popular browser.
Other Google Products
YouTube
YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world, with over 1 billion monthly users. This online video service was initially created by three former PayPal employees, and acquired by Google in 2006. The social media platform has grown into a popular, cultural phenomenon.
Gmail
Google Mail (or Gmail) is the most widely used free email service, with 1.5 billion active users globally. Gmail's platform can be accessed via a web browser or a mobile app. Originally launched in 2004 with 1 gigabyte of free storage capacity per user. Today, the service offers 15 gigabytes. There are also premium services, like Google Workspace (formerly G Suite, which has extra cloud storage capacity, ability to create custom business emails and video conferencing.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a file storage service launched by Google in 2012. Users can store files in the cloud (on Google's servers), as well as synchronize and share files across multiple devices. Google Drive also incorporates the Google Docs Editors office suite, which allows the editing of documents (Google Docs), spreadsheets (Google Sheets), presentations (Google Slides), etc. The service comes with 15 GB of free cloud storage as standard.
Google Maps
Google Maps is an online mapping platform, providing satellite imagery, street maps, interactive views of streets and route planning for travel. It's used by more than 1 billion people a month.
The Future Of Google And Google Chrome
The future of Google, the company, is pretty bright. And while Google pushes ahead with Chrome web browser development, it's ending support for Chrome Apps on Chrome OS, by June 2022. The good news is Google Chrome and other products running on Chrome will continue to be supported even after the discontinuation of Chrome apps.Google knows it's most valuable asset is the information it has gathered about user behaviour. Here's just two ways it's taking advantage of this information:
- Ambient Computing: Google as a whole is looking at ways for users to integrate its services into every part of their lives, by using ambient computing. So users can use Google's services, without even noticing it. Some of the products it's already looking to do for are the Nest and Google Pixel smartphones.
- Commerce Services: Google is looking to expand its online retail services, like Amazon and eBay. By controlling their ecommerce sales, Google will make more profit as well as learning more about consumer habits and trends. It's all about getting that user data, right?
Conclusion
By now, you should know the difference between Google and Google Chrome. Google is a company, who's main product is a search engine, that can be accessed using a web browser called Google Chrome. The company also develops many other useful tools for the web, like Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube.