Google
There are two components to Google's latest search improvements:
- Longer text snippets for search results, especially when your query is long and complicated itself.
- Better suggestions for related searches, based on semantic analysis of your search.
Both changes will improve the quality of Google's search results, particularly after users get accustomed to the new ways of Google's world. Finding the right balance between brevity and clarity is always tricky, but Google is moving in the right direction. Still, there's so much more left to do.
Yahoo! rolled out semantic search features about a year ago, along with support for several freely available standard formats of semantic tags. With these tags, content owners and publishers can mark up their videos, articles, products for sale, or whatever. This makes them easier to find, and also lets the content owner customize how the material will be presented.
Since Google is already doing the hard work of trying to figure out what we really mean by that cryptic query, it seems obvious that it would embrace the full benefits of these semantic tags. But Google seems to ignore them. The new suggested searches are nice, but they hardly live up to the full potential of the semantic web.
If I do a search for "apple macintosh," I want to see a nicely formatted presentation from SYSCO
This time, Google is following Yahoo! in some ways, while getting a jump on Microsoft
The race toward the semantic web is on. For now, it looks like strength in branding and reputation tends to attract more searchers than innovative new twists do. After all, Google kept widening its lead, even while Yahoo! seemed to offer a better search experience. Now imagine what happens when Google puts its foot down and cements the technical lead. This semantic step shows that Google still has its mojo working.
Further Foolishness:
