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Don't really understand his point. Just because he is a little business and hates big brands doesn't mean users in general don't want big brands preferred in th

by lnanek2 12y ago

Don't really understand his point. Just because he is a little business and hates big brands doesn't mean users in general don't want big brands preferred in their search results. If someone is searching for a music video, yes, they most often mean the big brand currently at the top of the charts. If they are searching for electronics, yes BestBuy probably gives them better results than a tiny shop. Google does track clicks on results, so they do know which results the users actually prefer.

Kalium 12y ago
It's basically a long-form complaint that Google doesn't show users what he wants it to.
- RichardDHH 12y ago
  Nope its not. It illustrates the divergence between Google mission statement based on technology and position and evoved reality.
  - Kalium 12y ago
    No, it really doesn't. It illustrates a changing business reality and your fond wish that things change in a way you happen to find convenient. You want google to provide not the thing that google and users think is most useful, but the things that YOU think is most useful. And incidentally (totally by accident, I'm sure) most profitable for you. Who do you think has more data and is in a better position to make that call - google or you?
jccalhoun 12y ago
his point is that his business isn't ranked as high on google as he thinks it should be.
- bsenftner 12y ago
  His point is that none of the businesses in his industry can get a listing within their industry. His point is that intermediate "marketplaces" inject themselves into an industry and then control consumer access to that industry's products. These "marketplaces" are not actually in these industries - they are in the internet business aggregate industry, and serve the consumers very poorly, because after all the consumer is NOT their customer, their customer is their investors.
  - Kalium 12y ago
    What he utterly ignores is that to the consumer, these intermediaries are often far more valuable than any individual business in the industry is. This is why I use Orbitz or Hipmunk to find flights, rather than going directly to United or Southwest.
    - pessimizer 12y ago
      >these intermediaries are often far more valuable than any individual business in the industry is. Or they can be utter shit aggregators and middlemen, which they mostly are, and which Google spends most/all of its time on trying to defeat their SEO to get to better content. I'm pretty sure that Google understands his problem and would prefer that his site come up; what I'm not sure about is why you seem to think a problem exists if every time you search for a product, the first page is split between Best Buy, Amazon, and GetElectronicsFastAndCheap.com, and the manufacturer is relegated to the second page. I think that Google is aware of this and trying to solve it, I just think that it's a problem that isn't possible to solve algorithmically. It is quickly leading to the end of search engine usefulness as a facilitator of discovery rather than of confirmation.
  - jccalhoun 12y ago
    So his point is that his business isn't ranked as high on google as he thinks it should be?
sroerick 12y ago
His point is that Best Buy pays for that spot. If users truly wanted Best Buy at the top of their results and that happened organically, then great. That'd be great. Instead, what has happened is that big brands are the only ones who can afford the cost of SEO, which raises the barrier to entry for everyone. Call it Search Neutrality, if that helps get the point across.

by lnanek2 12y ago

Kalium 12y ago

It's basically a long-form complaint that Google doesn't show users what he wants it to.

RichardDHH 12y ago
Nope its not. It illustrates the divergence between Google mission statement based on technology and position and evoved reality.
- Kalium 12y ago
  No, it really doesn't. It illustrates a changing business reality and your fond wish that things change in a way you happen to find convenient. You want google to provide not the thing that google and users think is most useful, but the things that YOU think is most useful. And incidentally (totally by accident, I'm sure) most profitable for you. Who do you think has more data and is in a better position to make that call - google or you?

jccalhoun 12y ago

his point is that his business isn't ranked as high on google as he thinks it should be.

bsenftner 12y ago
His point is that none of the businesses in his industry can get a listing within their industry. His point is that intermediate "marketplaces" inject themselves into an industry and then control consumer access to that industry's products. These "marketplaces" are not actually in these industries - they are in the internet business aggregate industry, and serve the consumers very poorly, because after all the consumer is NOT their customer, their customer is their investors.
- Kalium 12y ago
  What he utterly ignores is that to the consumer, these intermediaries are often far more valuable than any individual business in the industry is. This is why I use Orbitz or Hipmunk to find flights, rather than going directly to United or Southwest.
  - pessimizer 12y ago
    >these intermediaries are often far more valuable than any individual business in the industry is. Or they can be utter shit aggregators and middlemen, which they mostly are, and which Google spends most/all of its time on trying to defeat their SEO to get to better content. I'm pretty sure that Google understands his problem and would prefer that his site come up; what I'm not sure about is why you seem to think a problem exists if every time you search for a product, the first page is split between Best Buy, Amazon, and GetElectronicsFastAndCheap.com, and the manufacturer is relegated to the second page. I think that Google is aware of this and trying to solve it, I just think that it's a problem that isn't possible to solve algorithmically. It is quickly leading to the end of search engine usefulness as a facilitator of discovery rather than of confirmation.
- jccalhoun 12y ago
  So his point is that his business isn't ranked as high on google as he thinks it should be?

sroerick 12y ago

His point is that Best Buy pays for that spot. If users truly wanted Best Buy at the top of their results and that happened organically, then great. That'd be great. Instead, what has happened is that big brands are the only ones who can afford the cost of SEO, which raises the barrier to entry for everyone. Call it Search Neutrality, if that helps get the point across.