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For those of you that don't know, the FTSE100 is a London based Stock Exchange Index.
That MySpace page must be banking off that listing alone.
SERPs that are "off" are fun to study. :)
Is it really that irrelevant? It's a band named FTSE 100. It might not be what you were looking for, but it's something people (perhaps in the United States) are looking for.
Here's a somewhat related news item [vnunet.com] from last year:
The majority of FTSE 100 companies have failed to make their websites visible to potential customers on leading search engines...
For comparison, what do you think of a search on Yahoo UK [uk.search.yahoo.com] restricted to UK sites?
And here's the same search [uk.search.yahoo.com] from Yahoo UK done for the entire web, not just UK.
Looks a lot better. Arguably, the US results may not be the best, but there does seem to be a logical reason for it, don't you think?
completely irrelevant...
That's a bit harsh. If you look at the web page, as I posted above, there's a good reason for it being there. It's relevant. But it depends on what you are looking for.
These kinds of SERPs are windows into understaning Yahoo a bit more, and it will serve you well to not dismiss it and walk away. There's something there if you want to understand Yahoo.
This falls into user intent, and it highlights an aspect of the Yahoo algo. Whether it's a strength or deficiency in the algo is a matter of opinion. But to be fair, there's a reason for that page being there.
The results are more conventional using the Yahoo UK results.
But to be fair, there's a reason for that page being there.
Well the reason is because the algorithm found the page relevant. But a human could come along and decide otherwise. You might argue that there is a reason for any result being there; but, just because the algorithm puts it there doesn't mean it belongs there. The algorithms aren't perfect.
Maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying. But, if I were looking for information on FTSE100, that myspace result would provide me no information whatsoever.
Oh, heck! I should have noticed this from the beginning.
Not as crazy as you may think. Take a look at Google's SERPS, they're just as wild, too. Probably because the search should be for "ftse 100" and not ftse100.
Check out the Yahoo SERP [search.yahoo.com], which gets "ftse 100" right.
If a rock band's name is the misspelling of "FTSE 100" as FTSE100, then Yahoo is more accurate than Google.
This is what I mean when I say that these SERPs that look weird have something to say. In this case, the seemingly oddball response is right on.
Just kidding but SERPS can really offer some crazy stuff depending on the nature of the searcher and what they type into the search box...for example...if I look for the Original Posters name Chico_Loco with and without the underscore on Google I get as a result a gay rodeo or a site for a comic book...totally different with the ommision of an underscore...
so it aint so unusual! And Yahoo or MSN do about the same...watch out!
[edited by: BaseVinyl at 4:17 am (utc) on Aug. 5, 2006]
