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First of all, Google doesn't use clicks to improve their searches, because they have no way of knowing on what you click, the links on the search page are direc
by marcus 19y ago
First of all, Google doesn't use clicks to improve their searches, because they have no way of knowing on what you click, the links on the search page are direct to the websites that interest you and the JavaScript function (clk) doesn't send any info to GOOG. They do monitor AdWords clicks obviously and do a ton of optimizing on it, but that isn't where I get my value from. ( a possible exception is clicks to sites with Google AdSense where they can monitor both ends ).
And I don't care what other people read, maybe its my weird taste in books, maybe it is my extreme individualism, but I really don't give a damn. I just want to be able to find a book and get it to my doorstep as soon as possible as cheaply as possible and as hassle free as possible.
Most importantly the point wasn't the examples it that there are ideas that need very little users to be useful to their end users - think 37signals apps. And there are ideas that need a lot of people to have any effect.
- pchristensen 19y agoWhen I search for "Hacker News" and do Copy Link Location on the url, I get this: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.ycombinator.com%2F&ei=jahmR4ziOI-EggKk95H_Dg&usg=AFQjCNGKJHXhsq1s0-gYR96B--m47G9oRw&sig2=1iVChPaHAN3aVZAmpM9nCA http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=h... I'm pretty sure Google knows what I'm clicking on.
- marcus 19y agoYou are not looking at organic search results. The link is for non-adwords sponsored links. (notice the colors are different ). This is a paid advertising option, so it obviously has to be tracked so they can price it correctly.
- pchristensen 19y agoYou think PG is buying AdWords ads now? I'm aware of the difference between paid and organic search results; give me some credit. I bet you're not signed into Google when you try it. I'm signed in for gMail, Google Reader, etc. When I mouseover any of the organic search results, it shows the normal link in the status bar. But when I right click on it, it switches to the google address and that remains if I move the mouse and mouseover again.
- marcus 19y agoNo offense, but these were the only links I could find with that format. Just tried it while signed and still the link when I do "copy link location" is direct. Maybe they only do it on a small focus group or for users in certain countries (I'm in Israel).
- pchristensen 19y agoAh, the joys of having fine grained control over every user's experience with up to the minute modifications. Hooray for web-delivered software!
- atwork 19y agoFor me it says: http://news.ycombinator.com/ http://news.ycombinator.com/ I think Google sometimes uses direct links and sometimes redirection.