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Google Search Is Dying

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Re: Google Search Is Dying

#901

Post by rootusrootus »

uberman wrote: post #867

Google Rep: "You said in the post that quotes don't give exact matches. They really do. Honest. Me: Google for "quotes don't give": Top result, does not contain the given phrase Second result, does not contain that phrase This is literally the first thing I tried and I did a view source to be sure. They are lying to us and/or themselves. Looking at the result, I would say 1/2 the results don't include that phrase inc…

What's interesting to me is that if I search for "You said in the post that quotes" the first result is the Twitter thread, with that quoted phrase bolded. the second result is some other site which is mirroring this thread itself. There are no more results, I only get those two.

However, if I search like you did for "quotes don't give" then I get the behavior you describe. So the quoting works sometimes, not others. Maybe based on length or something else, I'm not sure.

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#902

Post by sleightofmind »

Despite the assurances from the Google employee (Danny Sullivan) at the end of the article, I have not found quoting a phrase to work reliably, especially if trying to exclude the phrase. But what I have found to work is typing the quoted phrase in twice in the same search query. Weird, but so far, effective. And no, I don't remember what the searches were for. Wish I did. Not for a second am I accusing Danny Sullivan of dishonesty. I take him at his word. Quirks abound on the net.

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#903

Post by jedwhite »

sriram_malhar wrote: post #898
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…

"almost no consumer consciously chooses to use Google search anymore" May I ask how you arrived at this observation? This is the first time I am hearing this. I know of NO ONE who uses any other search engine. The term "Googled" is not yet a proxy for other search sites.

People use Google because it's what comes installed on their phones and computers when they first turn them on, and they never actively choose it. So while everyone uses it, few consumers make an active choice to use it. From talking to users a lot, many just assume it's the only option - as you say, Google has become synonymous with search in the same way Xerox became a word for photocopying.

Consumers use Google because it's the default and the only visible option when they turn their phones on. Unfortunately, that's what a monopoly on distribution looks like. People no longer make a choice and don't even realize they have one.

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#905

Post by sriku »

Some time ago, I overheard a conversation between my kids. The younger one wanted to find out about something on the internet (don't recall/missed what) and told the older one "let's ask Google" .. to which the older one (early teen) replied "Google is useless. It will only show ads and random links. Let's search Wikipedia."

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#906

Post by nomilk »

friedturkey wrote: post #884
uberman wrote: post #867

Google Rep: "You said in the post that quotes don't give exact matches. They really do. Honest. Me: Google for "quotes don't give": Top result, does not contain the given phrase Second result, does not contain that phrase This is literally the first thing I tried and I did a view source to be sure. They are lying to us and/or themselves. Looking at the result, I would say 1/2 the results don't include that phrase inc…

Just tried this and you're completely right. Shameless how they think anyone would be gaslit.

The difference might be due to Google A/B testing their algorithm. That is, giving users different results for the same query trying to infer which results were preferred based on whatever happens next (user keeps searching, or user goes and stays on some site).

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#907

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 »

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…

"Let's be blunt here - almost no consumer consciously chooses to use Google search anymore."

This bluntness does not go far enough. People do not change defaults, no matter how "easy" it may be to do so.

A default is a pre-made choice by someone other than the consumer. There is no set-up process where the consumer makes a choice. The choice has already been made. Consumers do not make this choice. Even if they could, in practice they don't. That fact may seem insignificant but it is worth billions of dollars.

If I am not mistaken, the current CEO of Google spent most of his time working on "default search engine" (or "default web browser") deals before taking the CEO job. In probably the most important one, Google pays Apple a hefty sum to be the default search engine. It was estimated at $10 billion in 2020 and $15 billion in 2021.[1]

Defaults are effectively permanent settings. It does not matter how easy it is to change a default setting if practically no one ever does it. $15 billion is too much to pay for something that may or may not change. It does not change. It is money in the bank.

1. https://9to5mac.com/2021/08/25/analysts-google-to-pay-apple-...

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#908

Post by lanamo »

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…

xSearch for Safari makes the search experience on the Apple ecosystem much better. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/xsearch-for-safari/id157990206... Makes switching search engines easy and you can use "bangs" like in DuckDuckGo to use other search engines within safari.

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#909

Post by [deleted] »

uberman wrote: post #867

Google Rep: "You said in the post that quotes don't give exact matches. They really do. Honest. Me: Google for "quotes don't give": Top result, does not contain the given phrase Second result, does not contain that phrase This is literally the first thing I tried and I did a view source to be sure. They are lying to us and/or themselves. Looking at the result, I would say 1/2 the results don't include that phrase inc…

[deleted]

Re: Google Search Is Dying

#910

Post by magicalist »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #907
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…

"Let's be blunt here - almost no consumer consciously chooses to use Google search anymore." This bluntness does not go far enough. People do not change defaults, no matter how "easy" it may be to do so. A default is a pre-made choice by someone other than the consumer. There is no set-up process where the consumer makes a choice. The choice has already been made. Consumers do not make this choice. Even if they could…

> If I am not mistaken, the current CEO of Google spent most of his time working on "default search engine" (or "default web browser") deals before taking the CEO job.

I mean you could spend two seconds to search and realize you were in fact mistaken before bothering to write "If I am not mistaken..."

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