Google Alternative is a term used to describe search engines that are alternatives to Google. Lycos (5 letters), YAHOO (5 letters), AltaVista (9 letters) and Bing (4 letters) are all search engines that can be considered Google Alternatives. Lycos was one of the earliest search engines, founded in 1994. YAHOO was founded in 1995 and is now owned by Verizon Media. AltaVista was launched in 1995 and was one of the most popular search engines until it was acquired by YAHOO in 2003. Bing is a search engine created by Microsoft in 2009.