mattg3 - 12:03 am on Apr 13, 2006 (gmt 0)

I do believe that google does analyse and use visitor behaviour, but I also think the level of mathematical abstraction and analysis is far higher than suggested here. E.g. neuronal networks and statistical correlations we can't think of, simply because we have no insight into that data.

I would guess the target is less an undefined quantity that is hard to optimise [the world population over all web pages - good luck to anyone trying], but more a clearly defined target, like maximising income. That is a neat figure you can optimise.