NYCPHP Meetup

[inforequest]

Matthew Terenzio matt-at-jobsforge.com |nyphp dev/internal group use| 
wrote:

>On Sep 15, 2005, at 5:31 PM, inforequest wrote:
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>Yes, but what did you mean by the end of SERPs. Why?
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>

This is called a beta of Yahoo! "instant search". It seems to be an 
equivalent of Google's "I feel lucky" only it claims to give you the TOP 
RESULT (the #1 SERP position's website) instead of whatever "I feel 
lucky" promises. Yahoo! boldly suggests that the #1 result is "what you 
probably want anyway".

Last report I saw, "I feel lucky" was not very popular. I am guessing 
most people don't even know what's behind that button. But if this "just 
show me me the #1 answer so I can say yes/no" becomes popular, two 
things come true immediately:

1. It REALLY pays to win the #1 spot in your category. Practically an 
all-or-nothing game to be in Yahoo! (so to the extent that people 
utilize Instant Search, the SERPs are meaningless. Only #1 matters)
2. Yahoo! eliminates alot of their SERPs "quality issues" by hiding them 
under the carpet. As long as the #1 spot is good, everyone thinks Yahoo! 
works great (even if #2 thru 10 are spam sites).

Since it is widely known that Yahoo! hand edits certain categories to 
"manage" the top spots, they are thus able to eliminate a HUGE part of 
their algorithmic burden via Instant Search. Not much of a search 
engine, eh? More like a directory. And think about the "paid inclusion" 
possibilities... what could they get for the top spot then?

The AJAX stuff is just part of the interface (eliminates the submit and 
allows "suggestion".. a powerful marketing concept).

-=john andrews
http://www.seo-fun.com when Dreamhost isn't down