Google is merely perceived as being more relevant (and why)

Discussion in 'Google' started by Netizen, Apr 26, 2006.

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  1. #1
    Interesting read: http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3601751

    They are saying that Google's SERPs are easier to scan quickly for relevant information. Better usability because of the bolding and black on white text.

    We know that the Title tag is of utmost importance in ranking well. It seems that it's important to end-users, too.

    MSN and Yahoo are less usable (and perceived as less relevant) because the top results aren't where they are expected on the page (a little down and right from top left). Too many sponsored links?
     
    Netizen, Apr 26, 2006 IP
  2. disgust

    disgust Guest

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    #2
    it is interesting that such small changes can make a huge difference in how people percieve the quality of results.

    if only they'd put as much effort into the actual algorithms as they do the presentation... does wonders for masking the real problems though, I suppose.
     
    disgust, Apr 27, 2006 IP
  3. rustybrick

    rustybrick User ID 3

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    #3
    rustybrick, Apr 27, 2006 IP
    Dominic likes this.
  4. sadcox66

    sadcox66 Spirit Walker

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    #4
    A quick experiment should be able to verify the above .
    i.) Use a proxy and change the branding logo or remove it completely
    ii.) Parse out the bold tags
    Let surfers use the search engine for a while and ask them to evaluate which keywords they found more relevant.
    Unfortunately, I did not read the whole article yet ;(
     
    sadcox66, Apr 27, 2006 IP
  5. Dominic

    Dominic Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Asside from having the coolest brand name himself, Rustybrick is the guy that drives Search Engine Roundtable and is now part of the team at Danny Sullivan's Search Engine Watch Blog... and is user ID #3 here...

    So firstly lets have some more green rep his way everyone....

    Secondly, interesting to see Google using DMOZ anchor text as title tags in their results on a few data centers recently.
     
    Dominic, Apr 27, 2006 IP
  6. rustybrick

    rustybrick User ID 3

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    #6
    Thanks Dominic! :)

    Sadcox, the experiment was done and mentioned at SES, in that session. Check out my post, listed above, for the details...
     
    rustybrick, Apr 27, 2006 IP
  7. MattUK

    MattUK Notable Member

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    #7
    I agree to an extent, I just like the way google is set out, though that's also due to the fact I'm used to using it.

    I think the whole perception that Google is 'more relevent' isn't true anymore. MSN and Yahoo have bucked their ideas up and are just as good if not better in lots of areas. The problem is that they missed the boat. When the broadband revolution happened Google was right up there, people don't search nowadays they Google it. They'll have to mess up pretty badly now to drop the ball despite MSNs millions.
     
    MattUK, Apr 27, 2006 IP
  8. Netizen

    Netizen Peon

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    #8
    Wow! Nice article Barry. You're the pro and I'm just a spectator.

    When you first posted your RustySearch challenge, I rated a few dozen SERPS and forgot all about it. Nice to see the results.
     
    Netizen, Apr 27, 2006 IP