Google’s just launched Google Custom Search Engine, which lets you, basically, build your own search engine around a certain set of topics. Why would you do this, other than to show off? Well, Google will let you "make money from the traffic you receive through Google’s AdSense program." Now, why on Earth would Google pay you to make your own search engine when theirs works so well? Simple: your personal engine can make theirs better.

Experts are going to deliver more relevant search results than an algorithm almost every single time, simply because they are experts: they know where and how to look for information in their fields. Search engines only know how to look for information, and that’s not talking about highly specialized information. Essentially, you’re training Google in what’s relevant for your subject and giving them information that they can easily roll back into their own search algorithms. (AJAX titled search + lots of traffic = pretty good indication that Google should mark these pages as relevant).

Plus, Google is improving user experience on two fronts with this product: first, they’re making available a great resource for specialists to find what they’re looking for; second, they’re ensuring that all searches that end with a Google result return highly relevant, targeted information. Your search’s specificity makes Google’s search look better: it’s the halo effect. All for a little AdSense revenue.

technorati tags:google, custom, search, user, epxperience

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 24th, 2006 at 1:59 pm and is filed under learn, yak. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.