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Every Google result now looks like an ad

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Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#341

Post by blihp »

0xff00ffee wrote: post #316
LeftHandPath wrote: post #260

I've been using duckduckgo and bing for a while now. Google is just a fallback.

What does DDG use for an algorithm? Originally Google was just using pagerank but that was too easy to game by SEO. This means DDG needed to address this, and apparently they have (e.g, search for 'favicon' like the post). How long can we rely on DDG staying neutral in their algorithm?

AFAIK they don't have their own algo, they are just a front end for other search engines (Bing etc.) depending on where/what you're looking for.

Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#342

Post by roozbeh18 »

Guest0918231 wrote: post #252

It's funny, because if you run AdSense on your website, Google has very strict guidelines about not misleading users and making a clear distinction between advertisements and your content. However, when Google shows ads on their site, they don't need to follow those rules, they blend them in as closely as possible. Also, what's the deal with showing an advertisement for the same result that's number one? See the belo…

almost any average PC user I have worked with, do not know where to enter URL and always search the URL.

Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#344

Post by titzer »

raz32dust wrote: post #253

Funny thing is, this probably did not happen because some PM decided that ads should look like regular results. It is probably an organic result of A/B testing over time, coupled with revenue being an important metric. Small changes that increase revenue get prioritized and over time, it just evolves into this eventually.

This is what they mean by "AI first". /s

Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#345

Post by espadrine »

LeftHandPath wrote: post #260

I've been using duckduckgo and bing for a while now. Google is just a fallback.

> I've been using duckduckgo and bing

Bing’s UI looks exactly like Google’s with a two-year delay.

Their current ads have a single distinguisher from an organic result: the circled word ‘Ad’ in the same color and font size as the description.

Same as Google before the change. A worse distinguisher as the one it had before, where ‘Ad’ used a distinct color.

Do we really trust that Bing won’t copy the new design in two years?

Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#346

Post by merpnderp »

LeftHandPath wrote: post #260

I've been using duckduckgo and bing for a while now. Google is just a fallback.

Maybe once a month I use Google as a fallback, and then am utterly disappointed. DDG is just plain better at my programming and random factoid searches than Google.

Which is I assume because Google is allowing their search results to be of a poorer quality in the pursuit of higher ad revenue.

Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#347

Post by koyote »

lazyjones wrote: post #140
lykr0n wrote: post #3

I wish there was a way to directly help Bing/DuckDuckGo/Yandex improve their search results. I've tried both, and it's just not the same. Google I can bang in cryptic queries like > centos 7 tuned no daemon and get the 3rd link about how to run tuned in a no daemon mode. Bing/DuckDuckGo have the article at around 7th or 8th place, but prefaced by a lot of "while technically not wrong, not what I'm looking for" links.…

> Bing/DuckDuckGo have the article at around 7th or 8th place, You should take a closer look at DDG, it has the answer from serverfault.com in an instant answers box for your query and it highlights the required setting in a perfectly chosen excerpt from the correct answer: As of CentOS 7.2 tuned now has a no-daemon mode which can be turned on by setting daemon = 0 in /etc/tuned/tuned-main.conf. This is mentioned in…

Weird, I do not get that when running the query on DDG.

Do you have the URL?

Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#348

Post by danShumway »

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #297
danShumway wrote: post #105

Prefer DuckDuckGo for searching, if possible. If you don't like DuckDuckGo's results and can't tolerate them, then prefer Startpage to Google, which will give you the same algorithm minus tracking/customization. Even post-acquisition, Startpage is still a more privacy-conscious engine than Google, and their ads are better labeled. And while I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, quick reminder that unless you're r…

Greasemonkey could also be used to remove the adds not just restyle them.

I guess, but what would be the point? Are there really people who are fine blocking ads on Google, but are not OK just letting Gorhill/EasyList handle the implementation?

Bear in mind, there are a lot of other sites beyond just Google where you should probably be blocking ads. Do you really want to deal with the performance/maintenance costs of Greasemonkey on every one of them? Just install an adblocker already and be done with it.

Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#349

Post by masswerk »

kllrnohj wrote: post #239
sukilot wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's distinguish between obfuscating the query parameters, the the path, and the domain. They are different things, and the domain name especially is a major security boundary.

Most of what I mentioned did obfuscate the domain name. Users do not care about domain name security boundaries - that's yet again an implementation detail. An important one, but still not something most users recognize or care about. Hence, you know, why phishing is so successful.

Users used to care about paths and other descriptors. A decade ago, we were fighting for human readable resource locators. However, users have been taught progressively to ignore them as too complex. (Just the same as it happened for any advanced, but user accessible browser controls.) Why is it that 25 years into web usage, any controlled access is deemed too complicated? (Mind that other technologies were already approaching the end of their lifespan at a similar age. The web is neither new nor disruptive anymore.)

Re: Every Google result now looks like an ad

#350

Post by IfOnlyYouKnew »

aaronm67 wrote: post #266
bduerst wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not a requirement for AMP. CDNs now let you roll your own domains on the AMP standard: https://blog.cloudflare.com/announcing-amp-real-url/ Bing also uses the AMP standard: https://blogs.bing.com/Webmaster-Blog/September-2018/Introdu...

> It is not a requirement for AMP. CDNs now let you roll your own domains on the AMP standard All these certificates do is make it so Google's browser (and only Google's browser) will mask the fact you're on Google's domains if you sign the file a certain way. If anything, this shows more anti-competitive practices -- they're adding features into their browser that specifically benefit a features of their search engi…

So the user sees your URL, you're getting the revenue from the ads that are shown, sharing will share your URL, your statistics work flawlessly.

In other words: if it behaves exactly as a page hosted on your site (just faster), why do you care?

I'm getting the impression that HN users care a whole lot about seeing the request in the nginx log they are tailing.

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