Webwork - 1:04 am on Jul 24, 2007 (gmt 0)

I believe most people want to see a full list of search results

If that statement is true then why do so many webmasters sweat about being on the first page of the SERPs . . or in the top 5-10 results?

If they see a full list is the first result - or first 10 results - the most responsive or the best SEO'ed?

If that statement is true can you tell me: How many times in the past month have you drilled down into page 20 of the SERPs?

Do you really think, when you see "1,989,700 results" that each one of those results is "the answer" to your query?

I think Google nails it when I'm looking for a needle in the great haystack of the WWW - often, but not always.

When search engines don't nail it, and that's often too, I get to have fun pulling apart the haystack.

I don't quite have the same search experience when looking for a business in the yellowpages, so I'm not entirely certain "seeing a full list" - the haystack - is the reason.

Still, search engines are compelling in their own special way.