Google draws upon rival ideas with search changes
March 24, 2009 By MICHAEL LIEDTKE , AP Technology Writer(AP) -- Google Inc. prides itself on setting trends, but it appears to be copying some of its smaller rivals with the latest refinements to the way it displays Internet search results.
After months of testing, Google tweaked its technology Tuesday to occasionally display longer descriptions of Web sites in response to search requests consisting of several words. The expanded snippets will contain three or four lines from Web sites instead of the usual one or two lines.
The switch is designed to give Google's audience a better sense of what information a Web site has even before users click on the link. It's something lesser known search engines already have been trying to do, either by posting longer descriptions or providing capsule snapshots of the Web pages that show up in their results.
In another minor change, Google said it has improved its formula for posting suggestions pointing to other topics that might be tied to a search request.
For instance, entering "principles of physics" into Google's search box will generate the usual list of 10 results on the first page, punctuated by a group of links at the bottom suggesting eight other related subjects such as "big bang physics." Now, however, Google thinks it can do a better job of deciphering complicated search requests and will highlight some suggestions near the top of the results page instead of the bottom.
This clustering concept was popularized years ago by IAC/InterActiveCorp.'s Ask.com and has since been copied by other search engines. Google's upgrade was hatched by Ori Allon, who joined Google in 2006 after selling a search startup called Orion to the Mountain View-based company.
Even as it appears to be catching up to Ask.com, Google also may be trying to stay a step ahead of its biggest rival, Microsoft Corp., said Danny Sullivan, who heads the Search Engine Land newsletter.
Microsoft has indicated it plans to introduce new ways to suggest searches to its users, giving Google more of an incentive to upgrade its own system, Sullivan said.
©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
-
Google search gets semantic
Mar 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Google buys new search algorithm
Apr 10, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Google to target ads based on Web surfing habits
Mar 11, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study: Users mistakenly trust higher positioned results in Google searches
Aug 21, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
How to tilt a object
9 hours ago
-
How to calculate total compressibility in liquid porous solid system
15 hours ago
-
Need help reading 3-D
Feb 11, 2012
-
A way to send and receive wireless data
Feb 11, 2012
-
Calling function with no input argument
Feb 10, 2012
-
Force free body diagram problem on gym equipment
Feb 10, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - General Engineering
More news stories
Chinese city seizes Apple iPads in name dispute
(AP) -- Authorities have seized Apple iPads from retailers in a city in northern China due to a dispute with a domestic company that says it owns the iPad name, an official said Monday. The Chinese company said it is asking ...
23 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Microsoft India retail site down after 'cyber attack'
Microsoft India's retail website was down on Monday after reportedly being hacked by a Chinese group calling itself Evil Shadow Team.
21 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Hacker claims porn site users compromised
A hacker claims to have compromised the personal information of more than 350,000 users after breaking into a disused website operated by pornography provider Brazzers.
1 hour ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
AT&T customers surprised by 'unlimited data' limit
(AP) -- Mike Trang likes to use his iPhone 4 as a GPS device, helping him get around in his job. Now and then, his younger cousins get ahold of it, and play some YouTube videos and games.
2 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Ordered planar polymers created for the first time
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists under the direction of ETH Zurich have created a minor sensation in synthetic chemistry. They succeeded for the first time in producing regularly ordered planar polymers that form ...
New European rocket lifts off on maiden flight
A new lightweight rocket, Vega, lifted off from Europe's space base Monday carrying nine satellites on its inaugural flight, mission control said.
Rapunzel, Leonardo and the physics of the ponytail
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research provides the first mathematical understanding of the shape of a ponytail and could have implications for the textile industry, computer animation and personal care products.
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
Climate change causes harmful algal blooms in North Atlantic: study
Warming oceans and increases in windiness could be causing of an abundance of harmful algal blooms in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea, according to new research.
Cognitive impairment in older adults often unrecognized in the primary care setting
A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reveals that brief cognitive screenings combined with offering further evaluation increased new diagnoses of cognitive impairment in older veterans two to ...