3 ms·

Then perhaps try searching "mattress materials", "history of mattresses" or "mattress making tutorial". Plenty of relevant results, zero ads. When somebody se

by cbo100 6y ago

Then perhaps try searching "mattress materials", "history of mattresses" or "mattress making tutorial". Plenty of relevant results, zero ads. When somebody searches "mattress", 99% of the time, they want to buy one.

grawprog 6y ago
So, if I want a page full of ads, by yours and the other commenter's examples, I should have to type in 'buy mattress' or 'mattress shopping' shouldn't I? Why should just searching the word mattress imply I'm looking to buy one? Ideally, if I search for just mattress, I should get a little bit of all those things in one search, including a few ads to buy one, but it shouldn't be everything.
- johnday 6y ago
  You seem to have missed the critical point from the person you're responding to: > When somebody searches "mattress", 99% of the time, they want to buy one. This is unfounded I suspect but it would be a reasonable justification for Google's results.
  - grawprog 6y ago
    Reasonable justification != Reasonable My point is, searching for just mattress should reasonably and logically include a small sampling of 'all' related topics. As by your own words, specific implications behind the search should be left to additional keywords. Assuming the search is for the purposes of buying, without specifying that, is certainly more profitable to google than a small sampling of all related topics, but not what most users want when simply searching for a vague general thing or concept.
    - johnday 6y ago
      Suppose that we know, axiomatically, that 99% of people who search "mattresses" want to buy a mattress. Search engine A, when someone queries "mattress", shows a page of options to buy a mattress. Search engine B, when someone queries "mattress", shows a light touch on a number of different aspects of mattresses, including a history, the wikipedia page, and so on. Which one is doing a better job of showing relevant results to the user? I would suggest A.

by cbo100 6y ago

grawprog 6y ago

So, if I want a page full of ads, by yours and the other commenter's examples, I should have to type in 'buy mattress' or 'mattress shopping' shouldn't I? Why should just searching the word mattress imply I'm looking to buy one? Ideally, if I search for just mattress, I should get a little bit of all those things in one search, including a few ads to buy one, but it shouldn't be everything.

johnday 6y ago
You seem to have missed the critical point from the person you're responding to: > When somebody searches "mattress", 99% of the time, they want to buy one. This is unfounded I suspect but it would be a reasonable justification for Google's results.
- grawprog 6y ago
  Reasonable justification != Reasonable My point is, searching for just mattress should reasonably and logically include a small sampling of 'all' related topics. As by your own words, specific implications behind the search should be left to additional keywords. Assuming the search is for the purposes of buying, without specifying that, is certainly more profitable to google than a small sampling of all related topics, but not what most users want when simply searching for a vague general thing or concept.
  - johnday 6y ago
    Suppose that we know, axiomatically, that 99% of people who search "mattresses" want to buy a mattress. Search engine A, when someone queries "mattress", shows a page of options to buy a mattress. Search engine B, when someone queries "mattress", shows a light touch on a number of different aspects of mattresses, including a history, the wikipedia page, and so on. Which one is doing a better job of showing relevant results to the user? I would suggest A.