There are around four search engines out there that matter. Most of us are aware that there are more, but only four are advanced enough to compete in today’s search engine world. In 2003 Yahoo got rid of Google making Yahoo more than capable of turning itself into a major search engine.
Microsoft, after feeling pressed between advertising engine Overture and the search engine Inktomi. These both became Yahoo’s. Microsoft, in 2003, began research testing out their own crawler which officially launched in 2005. Microsoft could shut down Google just as they did with Netscape if they forget about capitalizing for a few years. There appears to be no reasonable explanation for Google’s success other than mere hype. Search engine design is common knowledge around the globe.
In the end,, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and even Teoma/AskJeeves, which really has to step up, rein kings of the Search Engine world.
Google is obviously at the forefront of the search engine race. Google own about 75 percent of referrals from most websites. There is hope out there that one of the other three will provide some actual competition. The fear is that if not, Google’s server’s will be home to our websites.
Independent webmasters are under a lot of pressure. Google, from the inside is forcing itself to become Top Dog of the web. The web is still open range, but Google is closing in fast and trying to buy up as much land as possible.
The struggle for advertising revenue is major. The main consensus out there is that the only advertising with any real worth is the kind triggered after keyword searches. For instance any keyword search on google will likely bring products up on your right screen loosely based on your actual search. While you can’t be expected to absorb every bit of advertising on your screen, which today is roughly half. Google was originally ad free. Google cashing in big-time and they aren’t the only ones.
Yahoo and Microsoft are sadly losing interest in pure search algorithms. It is more lucrative and thereby more attractive in pay for placement/pay-for-inclusion revenue stream. There is still public sector sites like org, edu, and gov, that are expensed by google on the noncommercial side. Google’s major boost came around when Alta Vista decided portals were the way to go and abandoned searching and crawling altogether. This is much like the madness that is happening now with the push for advertising.
There is no Library of Congress online or any other public-sector websites. Everyone is busy keying away on Google to realize that maybe there are spam free alternatives.
The main fear out there is that Google, showing no signs of protecting our searches, will give the Government full access. No one talks about it but there is suspicion, or should I say that it is obvious that The Government knows full well what we are looking at.
I don’t see any real fix to the problem. Google is going to own most of the Web. They, by sounding catchy and being mentioned by most celebrities and anyone else with the voice to say, “I googled myself”, have created a virtual monopoly. This has given them the opportunity to be the only real competition out there. Given the size of Google it isn’t to hard to speculate that shady deals with the Government have been made because someone’s gonna do it and I’m sure Google doesn’t want to fall behind the power curve or risk alienation by the Government. There are probably a lot of incentives in helping out Uncle Sam. And someon’s gonna do it anyway.
