DaveAtIFG - 11:21 pm on Feb 27, 2006 (gmt 0)

is Google really any better then it was in 2001 or 2002?

For searchers, it's still not as good as it once was.

Prior to the winter of '03 (when AdWords was deployed), Google seemed to read my mind and I invariably found what I sought within the first 20 results using a little common sense and a three word search phrase. Search quality declined further in the spring of '03 when AdSense was added. The fall of '03 brought us the Florida update and a significant decline in search quality that Google was been struggling to rectify ever since. They have made a good deal of progress but...

On the other hand they have built the most powerful and effective advertising system the Internet has ever seen insuring their survival for many years. How many other SEs have come and gone over the years? Clearly, it's a better business model.