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Google Search Is Dying

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Re: Google Search Is Dying

#821

Post by chillfox »

jedwhite wrote: post #585
softwarebeware wrote: post #6

Some really good thoughts here. I'll summarize the ones that hit me: - "Why are people searching Reddit specifically? The short answer is that Google search results are clearly dying. The long answer is that most of the web has become too inauthentic to trust." This is it for me exactly. I search for the following kinds of things on Reddit exactly because results on other sites aren't trustworthy: Reviews are secretl…

There's a reason why it seems shocking that Google has been able to balance the ads well enough that people still use it. They haven't! Google has orchestrated a monopoly over search engine distribution that allows them to get away with search results that are dominated by ads and spam, without losing most consumers. Let's be blunt here - almost no consumer consciously chooses to use Google search anymore. Google has…

I have tried using DuckDuckGo as my default search engine, but Firefox changed it back to Google with every update, so eventually I just gave up on that endeavor.

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#822

Post by SXX »

My own anecdote. Even though I'm not actively using reddit myself and mostly I just read-only participants on few subs that are interested to myself.

Anyway when I need to decide what to buy, or find an advice on something about certain country I'm gonna visit for the first time, or just want to learn near-scientific knowledge I do append said "site:reddit.com" more often than not.

I literally only use Google itself for some programming documentation or to find a picture of something. In all other cases it's results are awfully bad.

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#823

Post by richardsocher »

Yea. Reddit is a super useful content island. The idea that folks prefer certain such content island was one of the many reasons we started you.com (other than privacy, time saving, developer focus, etc)

We are the only search engine that allows you to set that Reddit preference once and then whenever relevant - the reddit search app will come up. Same goes for Stackoverflow and other apps.

It's changed the way I search.

Full disclosure: I'm a co-founder of you.com

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#824

Post by astonex »

softwarebeware wrote: post #6

Some really good thoughts here. I'll summarize the ones that hit me: - "Why are people searching Reddit specifically? The short answer is that Google search results are clearly dying. The long answer is that most of the web has become too inauthentic to trust." This is it for me exactly. I search for the following kinds of things on Reddit exactly because results on other sites aren't trustworthy: Reviews are secretl…

It's perhaps a little bit early in its creation to be sharing this but I am working on a new search that should help to fix the problems mentioned in the article, https://namusearch.com/. It allows you to build (and share with others) a curated list of websites that you want to use for searches

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#825

Post by Yawnzy »

winternett wrote: post #156
softwarebeware wrote: post #6

Some really good thoughts here. I'll summarize the ones that hit me: - "Why are people searching Reddit specifically? The short answer is that Google search results are clearly dying. The long answer is that most of the web has become too inauthentic to trust." This is it for me exactly. I search for the following kinds of things on Reddit exactly because results on other sites aren't trustworthy: Reviews are secretl…

Another factor that isn't being fully accounted for is a new SEO/marketing technique where many people are asking scripted questions publicly on sites like reddit and then stealthily providing answers that market a product or service. This leads to reddit results not being exactly authentic as well. Pretty much most online reviews cannot be trusted as we are begged to do positive reviews of companies (and when compan…

There have been some great posts and comments today regarding online content manipulation and censorship

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#826

Post by phendrenad2 »

I think that Google Maps and GMail are also "dying". Google Maps has gotten very bad at picking an optimal route in the past year. GMail spam filtering is becoming worse. I think that Google and perhaps even Alphabet are putting resources into markets that they think will reap benefits in the future, and letting the areas where they have a dominant position run on autopilot.

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#828

Post by wilde »

bambax wrote: post #814
softwarebeware wrote: post #6

Some really good thoughts here. I'll summarize the ones that hit me: - "Why are people searching Reddit specifically? The short answer is that Google search results are clearly dying. The long answer is that most of the web has become too inauthentic to trust." This is it for me exactly. I search for the following kinds of things on Reddit exactly because results on other sites aren't trustworthy: Reviews are secretl…

I think the OP is weak because it conflates ads and seo spam. Yes, Google went all in with ads, and yes, this hurt its credibility and the quality of its products. But there is no conceivable universe where seo spam isn't the arch enemy of Google. Google needs to fight spam to survive, it knows it and it does. But that's hard. So hard in fact, that nobody else has cracked the problem, and for all the anecdotal eviden…

SEO is ads Google is failing to monetize.

That said, the reason the Reddit trick works is that it uses information Google explicitly excludes when ranking content (engagement signals).

Google has a bunch of “objective standards” that it uses to paternalistically shape what the web looks like. Many of these are divorced from what users actually want for pieces of content (https, AMP, a life story in front of recipes to demonstrate authorship, etc).

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#829

Post by esics6A »

Google is dying because people are searching Reddit using Google and the data generated to conclude Google is dying is drawn from Google search volume stats for labels and keywords available on Google and trends...ok.

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#830

Post by ummonk »

dwighteb wrote: post #625
jedwhite wrote: post #585

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a reason why it seems shocking that Google has been able to balance the ads well enough that people still use it. They haven't! Google has orchestrated a monopoly over search engine distribution that allows them to get away with search results that are dominated by ads and spam, without losing most consumers. Let's be blunt here - almost no consumer consciously chooses to use Google search anymore. Google has…

> It is in all practical senses impossible for an iPhone or Mac user to change their search engine to a new search engine on Safari or at the iOS level. On my IOS device, under Settings -> Safari -> Search Engine, I have a drop down with options, including Bing and DuckDuckgo, but defaulted to google. On Macos, with Safari running, Safari -> Preferences… -> Search, Search Engine I have a drop down, defaulted to googl…

The drop down options are limited though.
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