5 ms·

You can divide searches into 1. Shopping searches where you want to buy something and 2. Non shopping searches. This article is about a type of shopping search.

You can divide searches into 1. Shopping searches where you want to buy something and 2. Non shopping searches. This article is about a type of shopping search. Lots of us have little interest in doing shopping searches on Google--we search directly on Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Target or whatever. With respect to non-shopping searches for a huge proportion of queries the top page of results are dominated either by shopping responses or fluff articles.

asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
The guidelines say "Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents." IMO it's not useful or interesting to repeat the generic, endlessly belabored complaint that Google results are getting less relevant. It's much more interesting to discuss the article on its merits.
- Guest42 7y ago
  The response is related and non-tangential. The “endlessly belabored” argument that results are less relevant is an important discussion with many merits. It is true that there is value in shopping results and information results. However, there is a more optimal balance between the 2 that will improve the usefulness of the internet for many users.
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
    Does this discussion have merit? It's hard for me to tell. Nobody provides any details. There are no exemplar queries where someone suggests a better result. Nobody is saying anything that isn't said in every other discussion where Google search results are even tangentially mentioned. You've got the classic DDG shoutout. The classic "Google used to be better" subthread. The classic "But if you type in specific terms" tree. And a nice tangent on tracking just for completeness sake. You could copy and paste this thread into the comments of any other article about Google search in the past few months and it would be no less relevant. Only, you needn't bother, since this discussion gets rehashed every single time, so there's already a discussion with much the same points as this one, and much the same value, already there. That's a good sign that the discussion is lacking the nuance that I always hope to find here. But what's actually happening is a complete lack of engagement with what was ultimately a pretty interesting article.
    - squiggleblaz 7y ago
      > Does this discussion have merit? It's hard for me to tell. In that case, why try to make a judgement? If you can't make a judgement but it irritates you, why not just spend your time on another page? Surely a discussion about the discussion is always going to be less useful and relevant than the discussion that organically develops out of the same topic. If the heading is "Google search", asdfasgasdgasdg could just spend their time elsewhere. The fact that fifty thousand people have already had their say doesn't mean that the next hundred people who want to have their say is a subset of the first, and thus may benefit. And, moreover, if people keep writing articles about related topics, related discussion is going to keep coming up.
      - asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
        Thanks for the advice, but I prefer to use what small influence I have to encourage better and more thoughtful discussions.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
squiggleblaz 7y ago
Wow, I'm not sure it ever occurred to me to use Google for shopping. In my head it's an information search engine that is better when you search an error string than DDG, but otherwise not worth the costs. If I want to buy something, I decide "oh, this will be better on Ali Express" or something. I think there's a few specific things I've tried to buy, but it really ends up just being a longcut to the place I was searching anyway.
- ignoramous 7y ago
  And Google wants to know what you're searching to shop for, as its better for their ads business. They do seem to have trackers on most e-commerce websites, so they might know anyway.
- muddi900 7y ago
  I have had great success using Google for shopping. Their paid price comparison results are better than most organic ones.

asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago

The guidelines say "Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents." IMO it's not useful or interesting to repeat the generic, endlessly belabored complaint that Google results are getting less relevant. It's much more interesting to discuss the article on its merits.

Guest42 7y ago
The response is related and non-tangential. The “endlessly belabored” argument that results are less relevant is an important discussion with many merits. It is true that there is value in shopping results and information results. However, there is a more optimal balance between the 2 that will improve the usefulness of the internet for many users.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
  Does this discussion have merit? It's hard for me to tell. Nobody provides any details. There are no exemplar queries where someone suggests a better result. Nobody is saying anything that isn't said in every other discussion where Google search results are even tangentially mentioned. You've got the classic DDG shoutout. The classic "Google used to be better" subthread. The classic "But if you type in specific terms" tree. And a nice tangent on tracking just for completeness sake. You could copy and paste this thread into the comments of any other article about Google search in the past few months and it would be no less relevant. Only, you needn't bother, since this discussion gets rehashed every single time, so there's already a discussion with much the same points as this one, and much the same value, already there. That's a good sign that the discussion is lacking the nuance that I always hope to find here. But what's actually happening is a complete lack of engagement with what was ultimately a pretty interesting article.
  - squiggleblaz 7y ago
    > Does this discussion have merit? It's hard for me to tell. In that case, why try to make a judgement? If you can't make a judgement but it irritates you, why not just spend your time on another page? Surely a discussion about the discussion is always going to be less useful and relevant than the discussion that organically develops out of the same topic. If the heading is "Google search", asdfasgasdgasdg could just spend their time elsewhere. The fact that fifty thousand people have already had their say doesn't mean that the next hundred people who want to have their say is a subset of the first, and thus may benefit. And, moreover, if people keep writing articles about related topics, related discussion is going to keep coming up.
    - asdfasgasdgasdg 7y ago
      Thanks for the advice, but I prefer to use what small influence I have to encourage better and more thoughtful discussions.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

squiggleblaz 7y ago

Wow, I'm not sure it ever occurred to me to use Google for shopping. In my head it's an information search engine that is better when you search an error string than DDG, but otherwise not worth the costs. If I want to buy something, I decide "oh, this will be better on Ali Express" or something. I think there's a few specific things I've tried to buy, but it really ends up just being a longcut to the place I was searching anyway.

ignoramous 7y ago
And Google wants to know what you're searching to shop for, as its better for their ads business. They do seem to have trackers on most e-commerce websites, so they might know anyway.
muddi900 7y ago
I have had great success using Google for shopping. Their paid price comparison results are better than most organic ones.