by Stoney deGeyter

Since movies can wait 10 or 20 years to produce a sequel, I thought that it wouldn’t be so out of sorts writing a sequel to a post from 2002. Back then, Google was the rising star, there was a lot more competition in search and GoTo dominated the PPC market. Only a few things have changed since then.

Six years ago I wrote a post about what I wanted from Christmas from the search engines. I thought it would be a good time to revisit what I asked for back then, whether it happened or not, whether I really wanted it (20/20 hind site) and perhaps ask for a few new things.

1. Build your own technology, don’t just backdoor another search engine’s results into your own.

Back in 2002 Yahoo didn’t have it’s own algorithm and they, among others such as AOL and Netscape, were using Google’s results to power their own searches. They were supposedly placing their own spin on the results but they were just about identical across the board.

So what’s different today? Both Yahoo and MSN have developed their own search technologies but they don’t have anywhere near the search audience that Google commands. In 2002 we were looking at a Google monopoly as other search portals continued to regurgitate Google’s results. Today we see a near total dominance by Google despite the competition.

Competition is good, but something needs to happen. These competing engines need to find a way to cut into Google’s lead and steal market share. I won’t tell them how to do this, as I’m sure they have teams of people trying to figure it out, but I can certainly see the upside of a Yahoo/MSN merger.

2. Easy spam reporting.

In 2002 I asked for a way to easily report spam to the search engines. Well, we got it. Now I’m not so sure it was a good idea. Honestly, I’m still mixed. Have I reported sites as spam? Sure, I had to test it, right? Actually, I have reported one particular site several times because they were obviously spamming the results with multiple garbage sites. It’s been a few years and to date those sites still take up space in the SERPs, even while providing little value to any searchers.

Now where I have real a problem is when Google is asking people to report paid links. I can justify reporting on-page spamming. The site owner, if they want to be found in the search results, has the responsibility to make sure their site conforms to the search engine’s guidelines. However, links coming from other sites isn’t something that can be 100% controlled. How hard is it to pay for a link campaign for a competitor then simply report them for spamming? There could be good ROI in that.

Furthermore, this is really little more than Google admitting that their algorithm cannot fix the problem with paid links so they want us to do it for them. By getting people to submit link spam reports Google is trying to fix their results without fixing their algorithm.

Well, I wanted it and now I got it and I guess I have to live with it.

3. Clear Definition of SPAM.

I’m not sure we’ve ever had a clear definition of what spam is, though this may be as close as we’ll get. Though by now I think most people have a pretty good idea of tactics are considered spam. You can find a list of such tactics here and here.

At this point, do we need anything more than that? Probably not. I think anybody can figure out what they should and shouldn’t do.

4. Don’t Sneak Advertisements Into Search Results.

Back when this was requested, PPC was dominated by GoTo which became Overture which became Yahoo! Search Marketing. At the time, GoTo was selling it’s paid placements to other engines who were incorporating them into the search results, often without any indication they they were paid for listings. Google was the only one displaying ads in a way that made it clear they were paid ads.

Since then the engines have just about stopped displaying paid results mixed with the natural results, segregating them in a “sponsored ad” section of the SERPs. This is no longer an issue.

5. More Pay-For-Inclusion.

In 2002 I was a strong proponent for Paid inclusion. The spidering and indexing capabilities of the search engines weren’t what they are today. Paid inclusion made it easy to ensure that your pages were in the search indexes, but didn’t influence the results. You still had to optimize.

Today, paid inclusion is all but dead. If you can’t get your pages in the search engine indexes, the fault is likely yours, not theirs. The engines are able to grab new content quickly and revisit older content on a regular basis. It’s just a matter of making sure all the pieces are in place to allow the engines to find you and revisit often. I’m very glad that paid inclusion is a thing of the past.

My 2008 Christmas Wish List

So what do I want for Christmas from the search engines this year?

  1. Better segregation of blended results. ASK.com used to do the best job of segmenting the different results on the page, however it looks like they’ve gone the route of Google, throwing them all into the same pot. I like segmented results because it allows me to skip the type of results I’m not looking for (video or images) or easily move to them if that is what I want.
  2. Let me opt out of new options. I don’t like that if I’m logged into Google I automatically get personalized results. I have my gmail open all day but I have to log out if I want my results pure, which means I also log out of my gtalk. PITA! I am also not interested in the SearchWiki. These options are good and all for those who want them, but don’t force them on me.
  3. Give me more results per page by default. With the integration of blended results, I’d like to see more natural results per page. This would allow more sites to hit first page and give more options to those who think the second and third pages don’t provide anything relevant. C’mon engines, prove that your results are relevant beyond the top 10.

      4. I won’t be greedy, three is enough for this year for me. What about you? What do you want for Christmas from the search engines?

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      Continue Reading: What I Want for Christmas from the Search Engines: The Sequel

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