BlueLeaf - 10:38 am on Jan 21, 2007 (gmt 0)

Actually, a lot of people searching on terms like "jewelry" are searching for information, not to buy something.

This thread is about the poor usability factor of Wikipedia for certain search terms, not information as a whole, reread. Are you suggesting that most people searching for the keyword "jewelry", are interested in finding historical facts on the subject? Having worked in the online jewelry industry for the last 5 years, I beg to differ. According to 5 years worth of referral stats from Google, generic words like "jewelry", "bracelets", "necklaces", "pendants", etc, have an insanely high conversion ratio. AdWords rates for these generic terms back my claim up 100%. I can say conclusively that most people typing in the keyword "jewelry", are looking to buy. I have virtually zero keyword referrals from Google like "buy jewelry", etc. I get thousands of visitors per day, so the traffic spectrum is there to further suport this point.

Now, if they're searching for a specific jewelry product--such as "widgetco chronograph--maybe that's a different story.

According to Google trends and OVT reports, obscure widget + generic based keywords searches [e.g. widegetco + pendants] are not used much in this sector, expect for well known brands like Tiffany. In the case of jewelry, most search users are not search savvy, and tend to search for broad based generic terms, again my referral stats back this claim.

If you read Google's mission statement, it becomes clear that, in cases of doubt, Google should err on the side of information, not some retailer's product listing.

Google should "err" on the side of relevance + usability, regardless of whether or not the page is informational or commerce based, in the case of wikipedia, they do not. For some searches, wikipedia has a high usability factor, for others such as ecommerce type terms, it does not. I think your point of view is biased because you sell information.

(After all, Froogle exists for people who want to shop.)

I know hundreds of non net savvy users that make regular online purchases, not one of them knows Froogle even exist. These people also make up the majority of internet users if you do your research.

[edited by: tedster at 8:36 am (utc) on Jan. 22, 2007]