Search Engine Marketing Blog

The Big Three: Google, Yahoo, and MSN

Although there have been many attempts at search engines over the last decade, at present three companies attract the most search inquiries and thus are the most popular sites used to structure web sites that will have the highest rankings. Because the format and structure as well as the search engine algorithms are significantly different from each other, no one strategy will work for all three. An effective web marketing professional individual or company should develop a strategy for an e-marketing campaign which will take note of the differences and similarities of the three and will utilize these factors in the presentation of the business on the internet.

GOOGLE

Google started life in 1996 as a doctoral research project by Stanford University students Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Their goal was to create a ranking mechanism for web pages that went beyond simply counting the number of keywords used on the web page and returning search results ranked by how the page content compared that of other web site pages. Originally the search engine that resulted which was nicknamed Backrub, carried the domain name google.stanford.edu. Page and Brin went on to incorporate the company in 1998 with initial capitalization of over $1 million.

The unique concept behind a Google search engine was determining a methodology for measuring the relative importance of a web page based not upon the number of times a particular phrase or word could be used on the page, but on how the web page was perceived by other web pages with like subject matter. Simply stated, it was assumed that that pages with the best network of links to other important pages should be ranked the highest in presenting search engine results.

The basic algorithms behind Google search have evolved over the years, to include many other factors beside the number and quality of links, but PageRank developed by the two co-founders of the company still plays an important role in the development of web page rankings. Other factors which impact the Google search engine algorithms include how well the content of the page matches the keywords used, whether the structure of the website and the navigation to its various pages is easily accomplished by the search engine spider, how well the keywords are placed on a page, and the age of the web page–just to name a few.

There is little doubt that Google holds the premier position amongst the search engines and for good reason. It is estimated that over half of all search queries on the Internet are placed through Google.

MSN / MICROSOFT

Microsoft of course, has been around and has been bringing out new software products for years, which is just exactly why their search engine, developed from the ground up, has taken such a strong position in the same league with Yahoo almost from the beginning of its beta release of MSN Search.

MSN started life with 5 billion indexed pages in its database that gives it a great beginning, but still only half the size of Google. Some nice features structurally with MSN search is that it works flawlessly with the other Windows products. You can use MSN Search in local mode, which is great for finding close sources for products or services. The process is transparent to the user. It’s created by Microsoft’s files on IP addresses. MSN Search also provides simple factual information by accessing such non-web entities as Encarta and MSN Music. These locations are linked on web searches as well for the most comprehensive and up-to-date responses.

To be able to customize queries to exclude or refine search results could turn out to be the most powerful part of Microsoft’s product, although it does seem to be a bit tricky to use. The factors that’s going to be the hardest to overcome for MSN is the huge name recognition factor which Google and Yahoo each have going for them. Both these two unusual names are so much more remarkable than MSN Search. Whether the wide acceptance of MS Windows products will be enough to overcome the lead that Google has in the industry remains to be seen.

YAHOO

Until 2003, Yahoo Search relied on the search engine established by Google to obtain results to present to queries on Yahoo sites. However, during the years between 2002 and 2004, Yahoo systematically acquired companies with their own web crawlers, including Inktomi, Altavista, and AlltheWeb. The search engines from the acquired companies were combined and essentially reinvented to become Yahoo Search, later supplemented by Panama.

Yahoo released Panama in early February 2007. Initial study confirms that Yahoo has moved from its traditional first position goes to the highest bidder model to a system that ranks bidders in much the same way the Google Search Engine operates. Other changes to the way web sites are viewed include a fresh way of looking at Click Through Rates. Yahoo is moving toward using only the newest information for ranking click throughs. Expected click through rates are also calculated based on such features as bids, click-through rates, ad copy, URL’s, landing pages, advertiser information and advertiser industry segment. Some of these factors Yahoo refuses to discuss in any great detail, as is to be expected in order to prevent SEO developers to use the information to skew the rankings.

Early implementation of the Panama Search Engine expects to go lightly on certain aspects of the ranking algorithms. For example the landing page will not be a strongly weighted in the beginning as it will be later on in the process.

Yahoo is provided extensive training and tips to advertisers as they move to the new system, along with tips on how to best utilize the keywords and site structure that may seem overwhelming.

Yahoo has added a feature called the quality index to demonstrate graphically what the value of the overall index. Quality will be calculated on the individual keywords, but will only be presented at the keyword group level.

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