Understanding The Diversification Of Google Search Results
Google, naturally, runs its business and gets its loyal users based off of how successful its search results are. Therefore, it is imperative that Google comes up with the most accurate results depending on the few words the user types into the search bar. We beg the question as to how Google comes up with its spot-on search results, which is discussed in this article called “Understanding The Diversification Of Google Search Results” by Pawel Kijko.
Kijko mentions that when words are typed and searched in the search bar, you will get a mix of results that range from the definition of the typed word(s) to official articles on the subjects to Google Maps listings. According to the article, through diversifying the results, Google increases the chance that you will find what you need, even when asked for in general terms.
Along with the challenge of featuring the most accurate search results, Google also struggles with dealing with explicit, offensive, or false content. For example, Google had multiple scandals with promoting false or inappropriate content, such as the phrase “women were evil”.
This article ties into our class with understanding how to rank websites and search results and utilizing rank analysis through hubs and authorities. In class, we mentioned how a “top result” becomes a “top result”– this is often done through voting by in-links and discovering what may be best for the users who search up certain keywords. As stated in the book, it is difficult for Google to correctly judge the intent of each link, but altogether, if a certain page receives many links, then there is a certain collective endorsement that comes from such results. There are various ways Google and other search websites can go about our search queries, and this article covers the topics of sentiment analysis, page structure, and behavioral factors– perfectly tying them into the topics we’ve learned in class.