SEOenthusiast

Future of Search
There is a fundamental problem with SERPS. They show the best optimised sites, or pages that have the right anatomy for search engines. The sites that have been optimised by SEO professionals with good external linking, or ones that have some longevity have the enormous privilege of being returned highly for favoured search terms.
Take a search for laptops. How many companies in any given location sell laptops? Hundreds ? right? But the SE?s only return 10 to the front page. Those 10 are the sites that the search engines have determined are the most appropriate result for the searcher. But the algorithm for making the decision is based on optimisation. Why? Are the sites that have optimised ? or have had the sense to get professionals involved ? the best companies to buy a laptop from? No ? they just have a better web site with better optimisation. So why are they returned highly for searches?
This is a dilemma the search engines are trying to get to grips with. They now spot an optimised-for-the-sake-of-it site with little real content and degrade the rankings if it doesn?t really deliver. That?s why the site should be ? in most cases ? of some size, a large web site is more likely to deliver good results. But this is because generally it?s true ? a large site will represent significant work that will likely deliver a good experience for the searcher. But this is also why the site needs to have another quality to be truly successful whatever the future of search. What?s that?
The site simply needs to be good. It needs to actually deliver a good experience. If this seems to be true by the SE?s whilst actually being a small site parading as a large site and having little real genuine content for the apparent size of the site, the SE?s will find out and will adjust the rank. Good sites will eventually, like cream, rise to the top. If they are badly structured such that they currently don?t appear too great to the SE?s, the SE?s will get over this and recognise the anatomy of good sites, whether badly written or otherwise and promote them. Good sites don?t come easily ? they will be recognised and rewarded. This is particularly true because of a patent from Google that came to SEO notice in mid 2006 ? the patent application of which reveals that Google will be joining the much vamped Web 2.0 by asking people to vote for the best sites. Much voting for sites (?much? to avoid obvious abuse) will help a site to be recognised for it?s true worth, never mind whether it has correct html structure or not. This will revamp search results greatly and promises to be the next big thing in search.
But what of those ?only 10?results per page for a term that has 100?s of good possibilities? The voting mechanism will assist greatly ? but even then, why not expand search page offerings to 20, 30 or more? Why not return results in columns? This sounds a feasible immediate solution to the restriction that most searchers will not venture past the first search page.
As the web becomes more clearly default ? as default as going down to the local store to buy some socks ? expect larger companies to dominate the web. Good sites take good expertise which demand good salaries that large companies can pay ? and as the way becomes clear for companies who wish to sell their goods ? they?ll view the web as many already do ? as the new High St. They?ll dominate it just as they do the High St. This is already happening ? but expect larger companies to buy out smaller ones or just muscle their way in by greater funding and by buying greater expertise. Small web companies could do well by making their companies attractive to bigger fish, or to beef up their offerings by robust external linking mechanisms and concentrating on giving their visitors a consistently rewarding experience.
Further Reading: Future of Search: Relevance | Future os Search: Non Text


Search Engine Optimisation   --   Turner Dow   --   There's Only One High Street Now
SEO House   -   9 Silverdale   -   Wembdon   -   Somerset   -   TA6 7PT
Tel.01278 426100   -   Email: info@turnerdow.com
View the original article here