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Does Google feel a bit scared of something?
Does Google feel to fix some things for not just to be a better SE but to keep the interest of every webmaster and every visitor?
My opinion is that Google has serious in "its" mind that soon some huge companies as M1cros0ft will decide not to stay away from the that game, the "SE Game".
As we know the MSNBot will come soon, and god knows how many features will get. And of cource we shoudn't forget that MSNBot has a very strong weapon on by his side. The OS called W1nd0ws!
And of cource the first step of M1cros0ft will be the next IE version.
"including a 'search' box right on the browser toolbar that by default points at MSN Search"
So Google will soon start to have serious problem...
So the question is "What's Google's future?" and "What kind of SE experience is coming...?"
One thing is sure "WebDevelopers will always be the workers for all the SEs..."
Good luck guys...!
This may sound stupid now, but look for companies such as Wal-Mart, let's say, to build their own search engine.
Success breads competiton, and MSN longhorn will trample google.
Since google is not a portal, it will have no other services to rely on when margins get squeezed, and eyeballs are lost.
Once eyeballs are gone, so is google, a la alta vista, baby.
jd
Case in point: Before google went into PPC, Overture was the only game in town. They were cocky, brash. Once google launched PPC, that attitude went away. Same will happen here.
Right now, google acts like it's an honor to get listed on their engine. You know what? They are right. But there will be a day when google will be friendlier to SEO's, watch.
Over the next few years, I bet you google contacts SEO's to let them know of upcoming changes. Searchers will not come to the engine if the results suck. Changes are coming, but right now, google is da boss'.
Microsoft has never really understand or ‘got’ the web before, whereas Google really ‘gets’ the web. People are saying Microsoft have learnt from its past mistakes, and I’m sure it has but there are still brand new mistakes to make as well.
Google is no longer reliant on its simple search interface to keep those eyeballs. It has Adsense as well, which is on almost every second webpage I visit. An integrated search facility from Microsoft isn’t going to knock that loyal membership base of website owners.
Either way competition is good. Google isn’t able to rest on its laurels with Microsoft snapping at its heels, and Microsoft will have to provide one heck of a service if they are going to compete.
Google has always been about delivering "high-quality websites with information relevant to your search". I can't see them ever changing from that.
I can tell you my site has been picked up by major newspapers, online sites and other ventures for it's content, but my home page cannot be found on google.
Wouldn't that make you mad?
Google has to find a way to seperate the 'black hats' (spammers/cheaters) from the 'white hats'. Until it does so, google will never get any loyalty amoung webmasters.
jd
The components to do this may already be in place thanks to Dom/Esme/Florida.
Perhaps Google understands overtime it will lose eyeballs to its main sites. Adsense was perhaps the first move to enusure diversification of its advertising medium.
Delivering the best high quality results is obviously very difficult. Before people knew about Google it was able to take the structure of the web and deliver very high quality results. The very presence of Google has changed this structure drastically and the releasing of the pagerank toolbar fuelled the changing of this structure to new heights.
You’re absolutely right, it needs a way to distinguish the white hats from the black hats, to deliver the highest quality results. So Google will try to tweaks its algorithm some more, and just thinking how many software life cycles that algorithm has gone through.
Microsoft will be starting from fresh trying to get up to the relevance of Google, which in the old days would have been easier, but with the changed structure of the entire web this will be drastically more difficult.
The best thing Google could do to stop the black hats from being so annoyingly effective would be to shroud the whole pagerank in complete secrecy again. Remove it from the toolbar – this would be the most effective move in my opinion to deliver the best high quality websites for your search.
I think that google forgets who made them. We did. I remember the days when no one ever knew about google and I was recommending them left and right. So, there is no one to blame other then us and business practices as these are usually destined to death.
I maybe all wrong but hey... did any one heard of the GoogleGuy lately? If I was wrong, we wold get at-least something like "Sorry guys, we messed up but we are working on it..." It's all about money....
If I was wrong, we wold get at-least something like "Sorry guys, we messed up but we are working on it..." It's all about money....
Big corporations never say sorry unless obliged to do so by law and then it is through gritted teeth. The absence of an apology by GoogleGuy (and/or any other Google reps) is not an indicator to the correctness of their algos, etc.
Kaled.
IMO, from a users point of view Google's search results are currently as good as ever. But I do expect things to get progressively worse after an IPO. At that point Google will be fully-valued as a multibillion dollar company; not only will they have to generate a significant return for their investors, but they'll be under pressure to somehow INCREASE revenues year after year after year. But since they're so big now, there's really no place for them to grow.
i can see that too. after all webmasters provide the "content" for the search engine - it should be a mutually dependent, symbiotic relationship
Does anyone think that it would be possible to create a viable Non-profit/Open Source/Peer to Peer/Voluntary (you get the picture) type Search Engine?
I think just DMOZ would try something like that with an open-source algo SE but then all the editors would know how to get a site high so....:(
Except if it will be an algo that would be really intersubjective.
As all of us have noticed the changes in Google algo after Florida update, we should think why Google took all these decisions about so many big changes.
Does Google feel a bit scared of something?
You could look at it like that or you could say it's a show of strength. I don't think they've got it right with this update but one feature of the current serps is the lack of spam. I think it will be almost impossible for a new player to produce results like this which will win Google a lot of fans.
One major advantage that Google has is its historic data. I think they are relying heavily on this in order to produce these serps. They can detect a lot of useful things such as which links pointed to domains before they expired and were re-registered and detect unnatural patterns in link building.
but one feature of the current serps is the lack of spam
i would love to be using the same google as you. i see as much, if not more, spam than before.
If they made Linux they can make LinSearch too. Why not? Every rebel without a cause geek on the net would use it. Any volunteers?
Since google is not a portal, it will have no other services to rely on when margins get squeezed, and eyeballs are lost.
Google already has other services, including AdWords and AdSense ads that generate revenue on many thousands of large and small third-party sites.
IMHO, Google has been smart to leverage its search technology instead of trying to become another me-too portal. (Does the world need another Lycos or another Go.com?)
Im back to Altavista & recommending clients do the same
That's a BIG diservice to your clients! Whether you like it or not, Google IS still number 1 by a mile. It can and does deliver the *most* SE traffic. If you cannot keep up with Google and would rather throw in the towel, you should consider another line of work.
Dave
[edited by: Dave_Hawley at 6:38 am (utc) on Nov. 30, 2003]
Does anyone think that it would be possible to create a viable Non-profit/Open Source/Peer to Peer/Voluntary (you get the picture) type Search Engine?
NO. Google only got to be so good because it's NOT open source. An "Open Source" SE would be terrible for searchers and superficially good for Webmasters.
Dave
Does anyone remember what that means? The old spirit of the Internet will die with Google.
Without Google (functioning as it used to) other companies will transform the Internet into one great big advert.
Users will choose the search engine that helps them the most, and I have seen diminishing quality on every engine there is.
Google used to be the exception, not anymore. :(
Im back to Altavista & recommending clients do the same...
It doesn't matter the SE you and your (place number here) clients use. What matters is that everyone esle still using Google.
Google wont miss your searches and you wont be able to start a grassroots effort to boycott Google. Whether one likes the serps or not, its time to get real, get a balanced business plan and quit whining (unless you are in my industry, then just keep on whining about Google and singing AV's praises. In the meantime I'll find a way to get back my visitors and yours as well).
They should be making a Nutch toolbar which uses distributed computing to do the crawl and serves as the nutch search interface too. This way anyone who wants to use Nutch would also have to contibute to its processing power. Best of all, the hardware would be free and would be present in every country in the world.
Well, back to reality. Better go and tune Adwords to make up for all those positions we lost.....
My Bet is you will soon end Your Google/SEO job as You began it; fired with enthusiasm.
Within 3 months Google is reduced to less then 20% overall dominace (search results and google.com) and over night the stock take a huge plumit. bzzzzzzzzt the end...
To me it would signal the time to buy buy buy :o)
Dave
