

Google - the content producer? - mmelin
http://www.tedvalentin.com/2010/05/google-content-producer.html

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falien
Google is not presenting their own competing services in a biased way over
others. They are presenting search results in context sensitive ways.
Searching for sushi in a geographic location indicates you want to find sushi
places in that area. A google map is the best possible way for google to
present the information you want. Does a crowdsourced site completely
dedicated to this tiny niche do a better job than google's algorithm? of
course it does, but there is no way for google's algorithm to judge that for
every query.

Search instead for "sushi review stockholm" and the cited website is the first
result and there is no google map at the top, because the search does not
indicate to google that the first priority is to simply find sushi places and
nothing else.

Now if google was artificially placing gmail, or google docs, or any of their
other service products that are not themselves presenting search results,
above the competition for generic search terms; that would be a problem. The
behaviour cited in the post is simply the best way for google to provide
search results. Google maps is a core search technology, just like google
image search, books, video etc. You can't use anti-monopoly rules to handicap
the dominant product itself. Especially when all the competition (search
providers) considers the same behaviour to be part of their core search
service as well.

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kulkarnic
I'm sorry I don't buy this argument: When someone searches for "sushi
stockholm" on Google, they aren't saying "Show me a map with all the sushi
places in Stockholm". They are saying "I want to know more about getting sushi
in Stockholm. Can you show me a webpage that can show me that?"

That webpage could well be the Google Maps website; and to level the playing
field, Google could use a similar blue-link to the Google Maps page that
highlights sushi places (or alternatively, show a map from the author's
website).

I wouldn't, however, hold my breath. On the Internet, it's NEVER going to be
completely fair. If they could, simple, personal geocities-based recipe sites
would prevent AllRecipes and BBC from taking over "their" expertise (some of
those old homepages had seriously _awesome_ recipes!)

~~~
moultano
>they aren't saying "Show me a map with all the sushi places in Stockholm".
They are saying "I want to know more about getting sushi in Stockholm. Can you
show me a webpage that can show me that?"

[Citation needed]

Presumably if you're correct, and users aren't actually looking for the google
maps interface, they'll skip it and move to the web results. Users have now
come to expect this behavior from Google when they type in local search
queries.

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jokermatt999
Now, what happens when I search for "sushi Baltimore"? I get Google's helpful
map, and the websites for several sushi restaurants in Baltimore, but no
single site that lists them all and does detailed reviews. In this case,
Google's map was much more helpful than any of the actual listings. If Google
didn't know about Ted's site, how are they supposed to put it above theirs?
Mea culpa, you can't really claim Google is pushing their content above
similar content _if they don't know it exists._

Perhaps, as the submitter mentions in another comment here, Google could form
a partnership, but that would require massive organization to set up. Even if
they just wanted to form a partnership with all sushi listing websites in
major cities, that would still require a lot more effort on Google's part for
a benefit of...what? Better listings for sushi, yes, but would it be worth the
trouble for them to index it all?

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jlgosse
I prefer Google's results nearly 100% of the time. Quite often, it's more
trustworthy. Not only that, most people are familiar with the Google maps
interface, so that's what they would prefer. How do I know that his web site
is going to be littered with custom maps and great information? I don't. He
could be using yahoo maps or something I don't want to use, or could have his
own opinions which I don't want to hear. Google Maps is going to be unbiased,
easier to use, and better integrated into my phone.

Not only that, I EXPECT Google Maps results to be at the top of the mobile
search view, if only because I don't want to have to find a suitable web site
for which better data _might_ be found. What if the top web site on Google's
results was bunk (this happens more often than not), and then it was
SushiKartan? I'd have to look at the top result, learn it was horrible, then
click the second in hopes of it being relevant (it probably is not).

Basically, while this guy actually DOES have the best information, Google
doesn't necessarily know that, and neither does its users. I don't want to
waste my time looking for quality results ALL the time.

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mmelin
What should Google do here? Clearly, in this case users would be better served
by the third party service. But overall, Google Maps results for these queries
are probably a good thing. Is the answer that Google should index and present
the information from Sushikartan in Google Maps? I don't know.

~~~
eauxnguyen
Why not index and present Sushikartan's hard earned relevant information and
reward them. Perhaps with something like content revenue for click through
traffic from the search results page. This would benefit Google's search
results by producing the relevant and local aspect of a review. If Google had
ad placements on the destination site the concept of content revenue could pay
a better rate.

As an aside I expected to see some form of ad placement on the Sushikartan
site that would help support my concept. No such luck. Not sure how it
generates revenue.

~~~
mmelin
I agree - but given Google's scale, managing the relationships with these
kinds of third party sites could be challenging indeed. Perhaps they could set
up a system similar to Webmaster Tool's sitemap submission where you could
upload structured data to Maps including links back to your site?

Regarding Sushikartan's revenue, it's not entirely clear but I believe there
is no direct revenue from Ted's map sites (he has a lot of similar sites to
Sushikartan). He has a few maps sites with partners which probably brings in
some revenue, but I think it is a traffic and reputation that is the main
goal. Ted already had an exit a few years back, moderately sized but very good
for a one-man shop.

~~~
slouch
what purpose would the "links back" serve? if google has the data and delivers
it to the user, sushikartan has marginalized itself.

~~~
limmeau
Detailed sushi bar reviews, for example. Google will hopefully not try to
reproduce all the reviews on the search page (copyright, lack of space).

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greyman
"Increasingly /.../ Google presents links to its own services, like maps,
Youtube videos, local business results and product search listings. Executives
argue that providing these easily accessible results clearly benefits users.
Rivals claim that this is self-serving, and that Google promotes its content
even though there may be better material elsewhere."

I am not sure whether this argument holds, since the Google Search itself
defines, what is a "good material" and rank it.

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DrSprout
I wish Google would take this one step further and redirect to maps when I
enter a string that looks like an address.

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abrahamsen
It does:

<http://www.google.com/search?q=10+fifth+avenue+nyc>

~~~
DrSprout
Redirect. Not link.

