This is Why Google Search is Dead and What to Use Instead
I'm not a big friend of Google for a myriad of reasons. I won't deal with those here. There is one simple reason why I prefer not to use Google Search though whenever possible.
Google Search is dead, it's not even search anymore, it's Google Ads not Google Search.
Google does not show real organic search results above the fold that is in the visible part of the search engine results pages (SERPs) for lucrative keywords. Have you been looking for hotels recently?
Just search for [hotels] on Google.com - This is what I get (searching in English from Germany) and why I consider it dead:
Can you spot the one or rather one half of an organic result? Take note that I use a clean browser here with no toolbars, only a bookmark bar. Most people use toolbars, for example a Google toolbar so they see even less.
I am not using a tablet or something with a small screen, this is my standard sized 15,6' laptop screen.
OK, so Google is not a real search engine anymore, it's an advertising based portal worse than Yahoo has ever been.
So what can you use instead to search for real? In case you are in the US or an English speaking country you can use Blekko, the spam-free search engine [full disclosure: I'm an unpaid volunteer over at Blekko and co-edit the default /seblogs slashtag (custom search engine) to improve Blekko search results.]. Let us search for [hotels] here too:
Hooray! What do we see? We recognize seven relevant search results for [hotels] in an instant without trying hard. To be exact it's 6 and 2/3 as the last result is not fully visible, a part of the description is below the fold so we have to scroll. Well, we don't see even half of the description in the one result on Google.
I could go on explaining why the above Google "results" are bad and the Blekko results are better but IMHO it's obvious.
I do not even have to use colors to highlight like others did recently. Just compare it to the distant past of 2005. Back then Google had real results in the visible area. Ask had the most ads but still fewer than Google now and where is Ask now? This is where Google will be 5 years from now. So it's time to sell your Google shares before its too late IMHO. My advice for all those who have no stake in Google: Let's move on to a real search engine.
I understand your take against google but I don’t think people will move instantly from google to some other search engine. It’ll take time. In India, around 98% people are using google & their default search engine is google since they connected the net. I was thinking that you might say to use BING but BLEKKO even I have not used that search engine since it’s inception. Also, you are always targeting google but not bing. If people will start using blekko they also after some time my turn into cash-earning-search engine. Who won’t? It’s all about money.
Hey hyderali, these are all good and valid points. In Germany we can’t even use Blekko as it’s English only. Google has a search monopoly here as well.
Given its past and ownership status Bing is not the ideal alternative. Blekko has a different business model by now, it’s not advertising, it’s tools for webmasters. Also the tides are changing fast on the Web. 10 years ago Google had roughly 30% market share just like Yahoo and MSN. Two years later it was already more than 50% Google.
Blekko might not be the next Google but there are other contenders as well, think DuckDuckGo and Yandex too.
Also there is demand for a real search engine again not an ad-infested portal like the Google monopoly so the invisible hand of the market will deal with it.
Google destroys all these guys when it comes to local, and that’s where relevancy matters most.
I think that Google’s reach a point of too big to fail, some of the changes they’ve made to shopping this week shows they can do what they like. I’m unsure how the public regard search quality. Bing’s also showing good results too but does anyone still use Yahoo, Blekko the pond’s too small by user perception to be adopted by the masses. I’d love to see Facebook partner with Bing (pull demographic data to drive search. That would hit Google where it hurts!
I don’t think is that bad. And they keep changing algorithm for better quality result.
Kent: You don’t see any search results up there thus the improved algorithms do not matter.
I disagree – I found this article through Google!
But seriously – Google is dead ? Come on!! I think what you really mean to say is that Google is changing by increasing ad space.
Don’t worry – a challenger will be along any day to redress this imbalance (http://duckduckgo.com/ perhaps?)
Sol: Yes, DuckDuckGo is another good alternative to Google.
Btw. you can’t have found my post via Google because I banned Google on my blog and this post isn’t even indexed.
Don’t start your comment with a lie because it doesn’t support the rest of your message.
[...] is not the cool start-up with the clean search interface anymore and the best search results. There are barely any search results left on the Google search result pages (SERPs) and the competition is better at privacy (DuckDuckGo) and [...]
[...] services like “Google shopping” only consist of ads by now. Regular Google searches for lucrative terms like “hotels” show only ads above the fold that is you have to scroll to see actual [...]
whenever i make a search on google, he knows what i am looking for. With google, i always find what i was searching for.
ofc it’s full of publicity and crap, but when i seek for academic information in google, i always find what i was searching for, and it supports lots of languages others search engines wont support.
I know google is evil (i have read your articles and i agree), but i still think that google is the best search engine.
I want to change it for duckduckgo or for blekko, I REALLY DO!! but i cant… google’s search engine is the best i know ):