Newspapers changing headlines for search engines

Will search engines stifle creativity in writing?

[jtara]

According to this article (original source NY Times, but link is to CNet - NY Times requires registration...) newspapers have begun to change their headlines in order to get higher search engine rankings.

[news.com.com...]

Newspapers have a long tradition of "creative" headlines. But these aren't always the best for search engine indexing. So, they've moving toward more straightforward, descriptive headlines - at least in their online editions.

In some cases, they are engaging in a bit of "cloaking-like" activity. They are putting one headline in the index, (the "creative" one used in the print edition) but putting a completely different headline on the page with the article itself.

If you have a print publication, and you alter your content online, is that cloaking?

I'm not sure I like where this is going. Are new generations of authors now going to be writing for search engines, rather than humans?

[joaquin112]

That's the main problem with search engines nowadays. People seem to forget about people and write for bots instead.

[jtara]

IMO, what will unhinge Google will be a search engine that successfully applies AI to detect whether text was written for search engines or people - and give text written for people a higher score.

In a similar vein, I want a search engine that doesn't just use keywords. I want it to figure out (or for me to be able to give it hints) the context or intended use of the information I am looking for.

Google has made a start in this direction, actually, though I don't know exactly how they implement it. (Hidden keywords, limiting sites searched?) I am referring to their various category-specific searches - Linux, Windows, Academic Research, etc.

I am tired of searching for information on, say, how to configure a Linux driver, and coming up with product results. I don't want to buy a hardware product - I want to configure a Linux driver!A "no products" checkbox or special keyword would be great. Or I might want legitimate professional reviews of a product. I don't want customer reviews, I especially don't want customer reviews on a vendor website, I don't want product pages. I don't want made-for-adwords "review" sites. I just want reviews from the handful of websites that do real, professional reviews.

Is it too much to expect of a search engine to give me the ability to find what I really am looking for?