Google Not Best for All Searches - Matching Intent with Results
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Google may be the best search engine when it comes to matching a user’s intent with the right results for general searches. But as with other forms of research, a user may want something more specific than a general encyclopedia to answer his questions. Sure, you can find apple pie recipes on Google, but can you find one that will satisfy Uncle Martin’s sweet tooth AND cousin Kate’s allergies? That takes a bit more digging, and some search engines are prepared to use a number of approaches to make the search a little less painful.
I’ve already mentioned Ask’s approach as far as getting as much varied information as possible on the first page of results. A difference in interface can make a real difference in experience. Google and other major search engines also engage in personalized search in an effort to deliver what is relevant for particular users. This kind of search bases the results returned on a user’s search history and what sites they’ve clicked on in the past.
Some search engines are starting to base some of their results on a user’s location. For example, a user searching for sushi restaurants will find just those in their own area. The cousin to this in paid search results, of course, is geo-targeting, and could actually save advertisers some money by showing ads only when the search is truly relevant and likely to bring in (local) business.
That makes sense; if I’m looking for a sushi restaurant and I live in Plantation, I probably don’t want to drive all the way to West Palm Beach for dinner. On the other hand, as an experienced searcher I already build my searches to take that into account; I’m more likely to search for “sushi Plantation” when I want to dine out rather than simply “sushi” (which I might search for if I wanted to learn how to make sushi).
Some analysts think that the trend to which Google is most vulnerable, however, is the vertical search engines that are cropping up. If you have a medical problem, you can search for information about it at a health-focused search engine; if you want to buy someone a gift, you can check out a shopping search engine; and on and on. Others think that social networking and social search engines will chip away at Google’s market share. I’m not convinced that users will want to go to lots of different search engines for different kinds of queries; if they can go to one search engine that answers most of the questions they intend to ask, they’ll prefer to do that. So far that’s Google, but Ask’s approach is showing that it doesn’t have to be. The wise SEO will note where their traffic is coming from – and be prepared to change their optimization based on the search engine sending them the most traffic.
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