Random Thoughts From Marybeth

Vanity and Search Engines

For a while now Google has been my default search engine. I have the Google toolbar and use it frequently. Now I'm considering changing that habit. It's not because of something Google has done. It's an ego thing.

When I do a search for "marybeth" on AlltheWeb or MSN my blog is the first result. Not so with Google. It's obvious to me that these other two SEs have keen insight that Google lacks.

Not really. What is happening is that AlltheWeb and MSN are giving weight to frequency of the term (each "Posted by marybeth") on my blog while Google appears to give more weight to the title and URL and possibly the position of the text on the page.

Since Google presumably looks at the anchor text of incoming links to the site, then those with the keyword in the title or URL would be given more weight for that term. But I don't think that is a very big factor. About a week ago I temporarily changed my blog title to "Random Thoughts From Somewhere Near Cambodia". (Hey, if Kerry could claim to be in or near Cambodia when he was 50 miles away, I can claim to be near there even though I'm in Kentucky. I look at the big picture - on an astronomical scale, I'm near Cambodia.) As far as I know, no one changed their links to me to reflect this title change yet in a Google search for "near Cambodia" my blog shows up on the front page. I'm making a change in the title again to test how important it is to Google.

Which makes for better search results? I've reviewed enough sites for JoeAnt to know that a keyword in the URL, title, or repeated in the text has little to do with the quality of the site's content. For some things (not a vanity search, though), using a human-edited directory may give the best results. Sites are listed by topic which isn't necessarily the same as by keyword. You know that the site was reviewed and considered to have some merit before being added.

For search engines, it's not so much which is better, it's recognizing that different engines will give different results. Relying too much on just one search engine would be like having cable TV and only watching one station. If you're in the habit of using only one search engine, try a new one. Try a directory too.

JoeAnt is always looking for more volunteer editors. If you have a favorite subject and know a lot of good Web sites that you don't see listed in our directory, consider signing up to be an editor.

If you're a blogger and you sign up for a category other than Computers (where Blogs are a subtopic) and you would like to have your blog listed you can post in the JoeAnt forum (put "MB- blog listing" in the title) or send me a message through the editor message system and I'll list your blog for you. Who knows, you may end up getting the Blog of the Month listing.