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Heh, while I was stuck in traffic on the way home tonight my brother called. We had one of our usual heated conversations -- this time about search engines (he had read my post about PLAYing with search and thought I was nuts for wanting search engines to display stock quotes for terms like PETS, PLAY, etc).
Editor's Note: How can we make search engines understand the nature of our queries better? Will the engines ever be in tune with users enough to understand what a searcher is looking for when they conduct a search? Discuss at WebProWorld.
 He thought I was wrong. I thought he was wrong. That's sorta how it is in the Scoble household (we've been like that ever since we were little kids). But, he blogged the conversation about what search engines should do over on his ComputerWorld blog.
I came up with something that looks like convinced him to come over to my side, though: that we need search engines that understand the role you are in when you're searching.
For instance, let's say you get interested in buying an HDTV (like I am). So you go to the search engines. Here, I'll save you the time. Here's Google for HDTV, here's Yahoo, here's MSN, here's Ask Jeeves.
These resultsets are TOTALLY UNSATISFYING. Here's why. I already
know what HDTV is. I saw it the other night at Chris Pirillo's
house. So, now I know what it is, I know I want one.
But the engine doesn't ask me what role I'm in. None of them do. We need a new search engine that understand that different people will come to an engine seeking different kinds of things. Some who are looking for HDTV probably are writing reports and need to know how it works. Some are probably wondering about the HD DVD vs. BlueRay debate. Some might have just heard it's the hottest thing and are wondering what it is.
But I'm in a different role. I want to buy one.
So, let's just focus in on Google since that's the hot search engine of the moment. First link: an introduction. I don't need that. I already had an introduction. Second link: how HDTV works. I don't care. Next. Third link: an info site about stations and some product comparisons. Hmmm, maybe useful later, but I'm looking for something else right now. Fourth link: Amazon.com. Huh? I'm not ready to buy yet. I wanna know what's available. It predicted I was in a different role. Fifth link: a magazine site. OK, it's clear the search engine isn't going to give me what I want, so I'll probably go off and read that site for an hour and come back. Sixth link: an ATI card? I'll have to put that on my gift list too. Seventh link: HDTV Buyer site. News and info. Another site I'll have to go and check out later. And on and on it goes.
What WAS I looking for? When you first get interested in something,
what's the first thing you need to know? All the choices that
are available, damn it!
Read the Full Article
About
the Author:
Robert Scoble is the founder of the famous Scobleizer blog. As an employee of Microsoft, Robert Scoble is recognized as the most prominent corporate blogger in the world.
Go to Scobleizer ... |
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Does
Weblogs Acquisition Herald A Reintegration Of The Web?
By Shel Holtz
In workshops and talks, I've been suggesting that the web has
become balkanized. Three separate entities have emerged:
- The "reference web" -- The traditional web where people
go to extract information. Characterized by the receiver-driven
model of communication, it's all about pulling what you
want when you want it.
- The "collaborative web" -- Social media, consumer-generated
content, conversations. This is made up of wikis, blogs,
social networking sites, tag-driven sites, and the like.
- The "broadband web" -- Sites enabled entirely by the prevalence
of high-speed access, including vlogs, vidcasts, and podcats.
Of course, these are all websites in the end, and all part of
the World Wide Web. However, only in rare cases are blogs (for
example) just one element of a larger site. In nearly all cases,
the blog is the site. The blogosphere is an entity unto itself,
separate and distinct from the rest of the web. Compare that
to message boards which, in nearly all cases, have been subordinate
elements of a larger reference website.
Similarly, Wikipedia is its own site as is TheNewPR. Rocketboom
is just a vidcast with supporting links. They are distinct from
traditional reference web content.
Read
the Full Article
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Satisfying Google's Voracious Appetite
Hey everybody, it's Friday!!! Hopefully, you guys are as excited
as I am. In today's WebProWorld spotlight, poster tony
asks what can be done to succeed with respect to Google's sometimes
unpredictable method of ranking sites. If you are interested
in joining another "My site performs well in Yahoo and
MSN, but not Google" discussions, this seems to be going
along quite well. Also, be sure to have a safe and satisfactory
weekend. See you guys on the next edition.
Thanks,
|| Chris||
Stumped
By Google
What am I suppose to be doing to appease the Google Monster?
I am certainly not an SEO expert but try as I may my site is
going backwards on Google and forward on MSN and Yahoo. For
the search term "a course in miracles" I have gone from 24 to
33 on Google, from 7 to 1 on MSN and from 9 to 4 on Yahoo. I
tweeked my keywords and my description recently, which Google
hasn't updated but the others have and this may or may not have
caused the changes.But my question is two engines went positive
and one went negative,is there really anyway to win at SEO?
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WebPro Question: |
Is the average position shown in adwords for keywords
a good indication of what is happening (PPC-wise)?
- JuniorOnline
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