Why
DO The Search Engines Change So Much?
Why do the search engines constantly have to evolve into a different type
of engine? Why can't they stay the same?
To answer this, let's look at the ultimate goal of a search engine. What do
the search engines want to do? They want to provide relevant results to you, the
user. Why can't they do that under the current system?
There are several reasons why the current system isn't working. For one thing,
the Internet is growing at an unheard of rate. Plus, spammers are growing at an
unheard of rate as well. In many ways, the engines are fighting a losing battle
to provide relevant results while combating spamming and duplicate pages.
In essence, the engines need a way to store more pages, combat spam, and still
provide (or attempt to provide) pertinent results. So, in an effort to provide
relevant results, the engines began sliding in other variables, which is where
the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation search engines come in.
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1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation Engines
By understanding the path we've taken to get where we are in this crazy search
engine business, it might give us some insight into where we're going.
You may have heard of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation engines, but what exactly
does that mean?
Michael Campbell explains,
In the beginning, search results were very basic and largely depended on what
was on the Web page. Important factors included keyword density, title, and where
in the document keywords appeared.
First generation added relevancy for META tags, keywords in the domain name,
and a few bonus points for having keywords in the URL. Basic spam filters emerged
that got rid of keyword stuffing and same color text. The portals also made their
appearance, and engines started looking like giant billboards and overstuffed
yellow pages.
All of this is quite familiar, isn't it? Almost too familiar.
But, do META tags hold as much importance as they once did? No. Does using
keywords in various tags help as much? Generally not.
Instead, the engines took it a step further in their quest for relevant results
by bringing in 2nd generation engines.
Campbell explains,
Second generation, which is in full swing with the themes thing, added much
in the way of off page criteria and link analysis. A few of the major components
they employ are tracking clicks, page reputation, link popularity, temporal tracking,
and link quality. Then they started adding in term vectors, stats analysis, cache
data, and context where two-word keyword pairs were extracted from a page to better
categorize it.
We'll cover "term vectors" and other information mentioned in the above paragraph
later in this article. For now, let's continue with 2nd generation engines.
We all know how important a good solid link popularity is these days. Does
any old link count? Certainly not. The days of huge link exchange programs with
no thought for "related" links are over.
Plus, with Google's PageRank system and DirectHit's method of tracking clicks
and the length of visits, we're seeing more evidence of a 2nd generation engine.
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About the Author:
Robin Nobles is the Co-Director of Training of Search Engine Workshops with John
Alexander. They teach 2-day beginner, 3-day advanced, and 5-day all-inclusive
"hands on" search engine marketing
workshops in locations across the globe. She also teaches online search engine
marketing courses through http://www.onlinewebtraining.com,
and she’s a member of Wordtracker’s
official question support team. Robin has two books on the market: Maximize Web
Site Traffic and Web Site Analysis and Reporting.
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By
Robin Nobles
