SEO ~ Search Engine Optimization (Optimisation) It's all about making a page the best possible answer to a search query in order to attain and retain the highest rank. That rank of course being #1. To do this one has to first focus the title of the page and then define the context of the page, which one can do with the description in the next instance. SEO is performed to try and make a sites pages rank the highest by order of merit. That is pages must in the first instance seek to match best an answer to a search query. SEO is then we can say about providing the end user with the best results they can find for a search query and for many search queries the likes of Wikipedia and Yahoo answers are ruling the roost which leads me to ask that if this is the case do you see why this is so and how would you go about beating such sites?
How about commercial searches? I see your point applying to information searches but there are different motivations for searches.
I get what you mean maxauthority but even commercial searches have to offer more info and use than just simply matching up keywords to products only. Of course Wiki and Yahoo don't cover those but looking at those at the top there are always extra elements of usefulness that give those getting the most consistent ranks the edge hence it would be interesting to discuss what elements though even saying that the shorter phrases are still Wikipedia dominated in many many places a lot of the time