Because that is what we used to do! We used to ride the waves of information and see where it took us. Remember those day's? We would type in a key word or phrase in our favorite search engine and start clickin'. Each site would have a link leading us to another site, and as you went you would always see something else cool, and click that. You started out looking for apples and ended up with zebras.
You could start with same word as many times as you wanted and never end up in the same place twice. It was the information highway, and you went on a road trip. It was an ocean of information, and you went surfin'. We didn't care what it was we were looking for at first, because we found all this other cool stuff we would have never known about.
Times have changed. Google pushed relevancy to the extreme. Or have they? Let's face it, search engines are nothing more than word searchers, and add posters. Any good word processing program has a way for you to search a document for key words. That is what Google, Yahoo, MSN, and all the others do. It used to be the words would link to other words in ways you would have never dreamed. You would just follow those paths. Now these word search programs have become more and more advanced. Google has led the industry by taking good idea's and making them better.
They took search engine's to new level. They grew to such power that they are now shaping the world wide web into their vision. To not be indexed by Google is almost certain obscurity. So, you have to play by their rules. Yet, they keep changing the rules.
Google said content is king. Quantity of links determined popularity. And key words were aptly named because they were the keys to the indexing. Webmasters and Search Engine Optimization companies scrambled to meet Google's demands. Google had become the most popular search engine because it promised relevancy to it's users. Link farms, and link trading sites sprung up over night. SEO companies made huge profits giving advise that many never followed. Some found loop holes and used them to their advantage. To get to the top of Google required money, and/or, innovation. Google saw it's rules were being bent, so, it changed the rules.
They have apparently decided that too much emphasis was on the links, at least the link trading. They still wanted content to be king, however bloggs were doing their share of bending that rule too. Just before the biggest shopping week of the year, they mixed it all up again. Many of those that were at the front, are now in obscurity. Some that were doomed into obscurity are now scrambling to meet the demands that they suddenly face. Everyone is in a rush to get their sites to meet the new Google standards. We now write articles, or use others, with key words used in very specific positions in hopes that the word search program we know as Google will find our site relevant to their users. They have launched new beta programs that will build new ways to determine relevancy.
One of those, allows Google to pier deeper into web sites than ever before. Google site maps beta. Good news is webmasters now have the Google ruler in front of them, and can now, instantly see how they measure up. They can now tweak their sites to conform to the Google mold. Bad news is, this is a stepping stone to a bigger shake up, and a mold made of concrete. They want to see what your users are doing on your site to help determine popularity, and relevancy.
This could lead to dead locks. A site will have to be popular to be at the front of Google. How do you get to be popular without being at the front of Google? If Google doesn't send you traffic, then how do you get your site in front of everyone. The sites that get to the front will grow in popularity, while those at the back are forever doomed. Or, will they be?
Google is all about making money. How do they make money? With click through adds. The links Google says have the most relevancy are one way text links. Like an add. If your site is in obscurity, then you will have no choice, but to create good content and purchase adds. And, of course, one way to make money is to put Google adds on your article pages. Google is creating a money machine. Hey, I have no problem with that. I believe in free enterprise. The problem is in the content and relevancy. Remember Google got to the top by providing that to it's users. When you typed in apples, you got apples. Do you really?
If content is king, then those with the most articles about a given subject will be at the forefront of a key word. I wanted to know how to make a motorcycle helmet. I typed in "How motorcycle helmets are made". What I got back, was a bunch of sites trying to sell helmets. None of them had articles on how a helmet is made. I looked through page after page of Google listing and could not find the information I was looking for.
On the flip side, if I want to purchase some lingerie for my wife, and I type in lingerie, I don't want to read about it. I want to see some lingerie, and make my selection at a safe, cheap, and secure web site. I don't care about the history of lingerie, I just want my gal to look sexy. How do I know if the site at the front of Google is going to offer me the best deal? Granted Google, and other search engines have come up with shopping links. You can compare prices on the same item listed at many different sites. Cool, that is what I want when I shop. Then why is a shopping site listed in front of information sites when I type in lingerie? What happened to all the cool sites I used to find when I typed in apple?
I don't think the relevancy problems are going to be fixed any time soon. Not until someone splits the web. At least two sections. Shopping, and information. If I have lingerie for sale, should not my site be indexed on shopping experience. If I am a search engine, and someone wants to shop, I should want to provide them with the best possible shopping experience, at the best possible prices, and the best possible selection. All the shopping sites are trying to fit the Google mold so creativity is lost.
For instance, Google frowns on javascript. I can't have fun javascript pages and get to the front of Google. I thought it would be cool if I could create a virtual reality mall. The shoppers walk into the front door (mouse manipulation) and tour the mall and look at the various shops. Will never be indexed. I want to create a super clothing store where shoppers can but shoes, purses, clubwear, lingerie, sportingwear, and accessories. Too many departments depletes your relevancy in any one department and destroys your indexing power. Google has destroyed web surfin'. Web users and web builders are now conforming to what Google says is relevant. Will this ever change? They greatest thing about the web is, it is ever changing.
The industry started with Apple computers and is now at Google. Bill gates started making a program with a bunch of guy's that eventually formed Apple Computers. Bill Gates went on to form Microsoft. The leaders of Google came from Microsoft. Who knows what, or who will sprout off next. It started with Apple, and may end in Zebra.
James Newton ownes and operates a retail store and a web site called Hot Stuff Leather and Lace, where he hopes to be at the top of Google one day.
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