Google Sitemaps Launch

Google officially launched 'Google Sitemaps,' a new program that allowed webmasters to inform Google about all pages on their sites via an XML file. This was a direct channel to improve crawling and indexing efficiency.

Significance

This event was groundbreaking, offering the first authoritative direct communication channel between Google and webmasters. It moved webmaster interaction from passive observation to active participation, laying the foundation for future tools.