Question: City, State (spelled out) vs City, ST (postal code)

Google and Yahoo rated on how they compare

[258cib]

Here's a WebmasterWorld board survey: Which is better?
Atlanta, Georgia
or
Atlanta, GA

I've tested the two searches on several city and state searches and the results are in. The winner is: neither.

Here's why: Shouldn't the results on both searches come up with the same result, no matter if you use "Georgia" or "GA?" This is the kind of sloppy editorial that gives the web a bad rep in the real world.

On the middle market cities I tested, the state name (Georgia) came up with much better results than the postal abbreviation (GA). I got more spam on most of the abbreviation results.

What is funny about this is that it would be very easy for G and Y to write a script so that the results would be the same.

Question: In that "local search" is going to be such a big deal for both of these firms, shouldn't the user's results be the same on each? Yes or no? Explain.

[eWhisper]

I've found that on long state names (i.e. pennsylvania) that the abbreviation (pa) works better. For states with two names (New York), NY works better. For states in the middle (georgia), there is no clear winner.

The problem comes in with some stats abbreviations mean multiple things. Trying marketing health products in Maryland. The MD extension screws up a lot there. ME (maine) also has some issues.

There has to be some interesting technolog (thats way above my head) to determine whats a state and whats an abbreviation of something else.

[258cib]

Nah, eW, it wouldn't be that hard for Y and G to create a filter figure out that Baltimore MD is not Baltimore Doctors. Or Bozeman MT is not Bozeman Mountains.

But, your results jive with mine: Spelling out the state gets you better results. Now, why don't they fix this?

[Mohamed_E]

I wonder whether Google is working on this.

Remember how, until recently, they stated emphatically that they did not do stemming? And now they do.

I believe that they are (or should be) working on an abbreviation algo. It is not only state names. People search for mountains as either mt widget or mount widget, equal numbers for both. So I have to use both in rougly equal numbers.

[ken_b]

Whenever possible I use both versions on my pages when refering to a state location.

Does it help? I don't know, but I look at it as a little comfort zone thing.

[258cib]

Likewise, but for reasons I cannot figure out, the postal address gets a heck of a lot of spam on most "City State" searches.

But, it would seem to me that G and Y would work on this just so users would have some comfort in the result. I can't think of any reason why the results should be different.