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Although it appears similar to the AdWords related searches, this is quite a bit different.
I for one - love it.
Although it appears similar to the AdWords related searches, this is quite a bit different.
Yeah and it's high time they did it :) I remember it being suggested many times over here. And they always listen to what ppl say over here ;)
michael_heraghty, we're happy to get suggestions from anywhere. An internal group came up with the idea for this experiment, but from all the times Brett has mentioned related searches, I knew he'd be happy about it. ;) It is an experiment right now, so only a small number of users get the suggestions right now.
I wonder whether Google took this idea from the one proposed last year by consulting company 37signals?
I suspect they took the idea from Teoma, which has an excellent implementation of a related searches feature.
I feel the long term impact of this "assisted search" will be a negative development of "search skills"
...and then they all will be complaining: "On Google we can't find anything". When actually they don't know how to search because they have been using assisted search so long that now they are "search brain dead".
Google should intead try to train users to become better searchers, by putting in training tips at the bottom of each page. Better searcher = Better results. There is an old saying: in order to get the right answer, first you must ask the right question.
Let me illustrate a common mistake that I have seen many people in my office make. They want blue widgets. So they go to Google and type "Buy Blue Widgets Online"...now their search will show them all kinds of results, and the related search will show them "Send Blue Widgets", "Order Blue Widgets", "Discount Blue Widgets", etc. etc....much like how adwords does it.
And they will say, we can't find anything suitable?
Why?
They are looking for Blue Widgets in Seattle...they want something local...but it won't occur to them to type the city name. And the related search will send them on a completely wrong path.
Don't do it.
Now, now... Rather than accuse Google of stealing ideas from their competitors, I'd prefer to believe that this new feature is the result of all our valuable input over the years [webmasterworld.com]. :)
Yup, something that sets Google apart is the clean no nonsense feel. Teoma gets away with it because they are not running profit down the right side.
I suspect they took the idea from Teoma, which has an excellent implementation of a related searches feature.
Over the years, related searches has also been implemented at Lycos, at AltaVista, and at Inktomi, to name a few.
In a way a form of search query expansion.
Been hoping for that for ages, I remember Matt Cutts saying they tried it before but users were not using or liking it.
..When actually they don't know how to search because they have been using assisted search so long that now they are "search brain dead".
One could also argue for the contrary. How many people still use one word search queries? and repeatedly do so?
They could also offer it as an opt-in, or only for certain queries: one-word, or words with multiple meanings.
..screen real estate is going to get tight pretty soon..
They could get rid of the northern banner ;)
Yup, so do most of us....but Google needs to influence us into a way to make a buck from their free search too!
These "enhancements" aren't there for the pleasure of the surfing public......they are being put in place for the longer term acceptance of how Google will make a greater profit;)
These "enhancements" aren't there for the pleasure of the surfing public......they are being put in place for the longer term acceptance of how Google will make a greater profit;)
I don't think Google would sink so low as to bias the selection of related searches by how lucrative they are. But, even if related searches never appear as an end-user feature, I wouldn't be surprised if some day AdWords are triggered by the whole set of related searches as well as the original query, and advertisers are locked into this without any notice before or after the change. History shows [webmasterworld.com] that this isn't a crazy outcome.
One could also argue for the contrary. How many people still use one word search queries? and repeatedly do so?
my point is that Google should try and teach people how to search better.
teaching is different from assisting. Teaching empowers ability. Assisting is just a walking stick.
Perhaps Google should assist and teach.
NICE!
Underneath the search results is the ONLY place it is showing up now, and has been showing up for us for almost 24 hours now.
Perfect place for it, will serve searchers very well.
However the catch is being in the top ten would become increasingly competitive since their would be high percentage decrease in the number of people visiting the second page.
This might push up your adword prices and also upgradation of SEO skills to be among top ten all the time.
I belive the move has it's own advatages and disadvantages but the bottom related search results makes lot more sense.
HayMeadows,Thanks for Screen shot.
Namaste you make a valid point about teaching how to search.This I am sure is required and I won't be surprised if Google would introduce Using Search Engine Tutorial (Like it did for Adwords Tutorial.)
Aravind.
