Google Still Supreme?
Ian Lurie Feb 15 2004
Google’s had a lot of shake-ups recently. The now-infamous Florida Update gave a lot of search engine optimization firms hives. IPO rumors (now confirmed) have folks wondering about Google’s long-purported neutrality. And now Yahoo/Inktomi and Microsoft are lining up to compete. What does it all mean? Most likely, that Google will change the rules yet again to stay ahead of the pack. In fact, the search engine leader already has.
Anyone who performs search engine optimization for a living knows that Google’s changed the rules recently. Theories abound, but one thing’s for sure: Google is now emphasizing quality links more than ever.
And, just to really keep things going, Google has also worked hard to improve their local search mechanism. That was the one thing that Yahoo appeared to have over Google.
But combine Google’s ever-growing index with their huge audience share, and throw in Yahoo’s huge blunder on the paid inclusion front, and you wonder if the battle isn’t already over…
Ian Lurie
CEO
Ian Lurie is CEO and founder of Portent Inc. He's recorded training for Lynda.com, writes regularly for the Portent Blog and has been published on AllThingsD, Forbes.com and TechCrunch. Ian speaks at conferences around the world, including SearchLove, MozCon, SIC and ad:Tech. Follow him on Twitter at portentint. He also just published a book about strategy for services businesses: One Trick Ponies Get Shot, available on Kindle. Read More