Yahoo vs Google August 15, 2005 7:17 PM Subscribe
If it's true that Yahoo! has a more complete index of Metafilter than Google does - see here, here and here (just below) for tantalizing discussion - wouldn't it make more sense to point folks to Yahoo! rather than Google on the site's various search and posting pages? Anyone up for a semi-scientific test?
Ye olde NCSA has already looked into this.
It doesn't look very good for Yahoo.
posted by ursus_comiter at 7:24 PM on August 15, 2005
It doesn't look very good for Yahoo.
posted by ursus_comiter at 7:24 PM on August 15, 2005
site:www.metafilter.com sheehan
on yahoo: 115 hits
on google: 39 hits
posted by amberglow at 7:24 PM on August 15, 2005
on yahoo: 115 hits
on google: 39 hits
posted by amberglow at 7:24 PM on August 15, 2005
Interesting study, ursus_comiter, but an average across the Web isn't the same as performance across the various Mefi sites, and given the recent anecdotal reports that Yahoo! returns better results here, it seems worth looking into. I'm sure we can create a Mefi-specific test that avoids duplicate results fairly easily.
posted by mediareport at 7:31 PM on August 15, 2005
posted by mediareport at 7:31 PM on August 15, 2005
For the filter, Yahoo owns Google.
Dump your Google stock before the plunge.
posted by caddis at 7:37 PM on August 15, 2005
Dump your Google stock before the plunge.
posted by caddis at 7:37 PM on August 15, 2005
For example, if I wanted to glance over all the threads I've participated in that involved Israel, I'd do a search like this:
site:metafilter.com mediareport israel
Yahoo returns 209 results, including thread 22587 as the 85th result and thread 20544 as the 88th.
Google returns 73 results, which, as far as I can see, don't include either of the above threads. So, right now, it doesn't seem like a simple issue of Yahoo duplicating results in some way, but rather looks like Yahoo is indeed more thoroughly indexing the site.
posted by mediareport at 7:47 PM on August 15, 2005
site:metafilter.com mediareport israel
Yahoo returns 209 results, including thread 22587 as the 85th result and thread 20544 as the 88th.
Google returns 73 results, which, as far as I can see, don't include either of the above threads. So, right now, it doesn't seem like a simple issue of Yahoo duplicating results in some way, but rather looks like Yahoo is indeed more thoroughly indexing the site.
posted by mediareport at 7:47 PM on August 15, 2005
How can I change the default search in firefox from google to yahoo?
posted by puke & cry at 7:53 PM on August 15, 2005
posted by puke & cry at 7:53 PM on August 15, 2005
The google metafilter search practically doesn't work at all. As much as I "love" google, if we could find a better way--even if it's by going turncoat against the beloved google--I'm all for it.
posted by interrobang at 7:59 PM on August 15, 2005
posted by interrobang at 7:59 PM on August 15, 2005
The one caveat with Yahoo is that limiting the search domain to metafilter.com gives lots of duplicate results. They've indexed a lot of subdomains that are just mirrors of the main site, like "photos.metafilter.com" and such, and they show up. So it works much better if you limit it to just www.metafilter.com or ask.metafilter.com
posted by smackfu at 8:57 PM on August 15, 2005
posted by smackfu at 8:57 PM on August 15, 2005
They've indexed a lot of subdomains that are just mirrors of the main site, like "photos.metafilter.com" and such, and they show up.
The 73 Google results I mention above include 2 from "photos.metafilter.com" and 12 from "bukkake.metafilter.com", so I don't think that's just a Yahoo problem.
posted by mediareport at 9:12 PM on August 15, 2005
The 73 Google results I mention above include 2 from "photos.metafilter.com" and 12 from "bukkake.metafilter.com", so I don't think that's just a Yahoo problem.
posted by mediareport at 9:12 PM on August 15, 2005
site:www.metafilter.com mediareport israel
Google: 34
Yahoo: 130
posted by mediareport at 9:25 PM on August 15, 2005
Google: 34
Yahoo: 130
posted by mediareport at 9:25 PM on August 15, 2005
If it's not on Google, it's not on the web, even if you know it is.
posted by Space Coyote at 3:27 AM on August 16, 2005
posted by Space Coyote at 3:27 AM on August 16, 2005
Geez, is anyone else annoyed at just how much of a godamned clone Yahoo's UI is of google?
That said, I would think it's more a case of Yahoo's spider being more aggresive with Metafilter. You'd think Google would be the nicer netizen for not being so spammy?
posted by cavalier at 4:15 AM on August 16, 2005
That said, I would think it's more a case of Yahoo's spider being more aggresive with Metafilter. You'd think Google would be the nicer netizen for not being so spammy?
posted by cavalier at 4:15 AM on August 16, 2005
This has been mentioned before, by more than just myself. Google's index of Metafilter is complete pants.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:35 AM on August 16, 2005
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:35 AM on August 16, 2005
Geez, is anyone else annoyed at just how much of a godamned clone Yahoo's UI is of google?
No, I was annoyed when it was otherwise.
posted by grouse at 6:56 AM on August 16, 2005
No, I was annoyed when it was otherwise.
posted by grouse at 6:56 AM on August 16, 2005
How can I change the default search in firefox from google to yahoo?
It's easy. Just click on the Google symbol in the search window and you get a pull-down menu. Yahoo is the second one on the list, and you can add other search engines, too.
posted by mediareport at 7:15 AM on August 16, 2005
It's easy. Just click on the Google symbol in the search window and you get a pull-down menu. Yahoo is the second one on the list, and you can add other search engines, too.
posted by mediareport at 7:15 AM on August 16, 2005
I wonder if the difference has to do with the different ways yahoo and google index. If I remember correctly google leans more towards pages that are linked. While this may work for general searches when you don't know what exactly you want, for site searches and looking for specific pages yahoo might excel. Gasp they are each finding a niche in their environment. It's like the Internet is evolving.
posted by geoff. at 8:15 AM on August 16, 2005
posted by geoff. at 8:15 AM on August 16, 2005
!!
search phrase:
"gary snyder" site:www.metafilter.com
Google: 0!!
Yahoo: 5!!
*explodes*
I bet you GoogleBot and JRun get into fights...
posted by cavalier at 11:35 AM on August 16, 2005
search phrase:
"gary snyder" site:www.metafilter.com
Google: 0!!
Yahoo: 5!!
*explodes*
I bet you GoogleBot and JRun get into fights...
posted by cavalier at 11:35 AM on August 16, 2005
Wasn't there a study awhile back that found Yahoo indexed blogs more deeply than Google? In other words, that although Google had more blogs indexed, Yahoo was more thorough on the ones it had?
posted by me3dia at 2:58 PM on August 16, 2005
posted by me3dia at 2:58 PM on August 16, 2005
It's easy. Just click on the Google symbol in the search window and you get a pull-down menu. Yahoo is the second one on the list, and you can add other search engines, too.
Ugh, head-slappingly stupid. I thought it switched back to google once the browser closed. Didn't even try it. I did start digging through the chrome folder looking for scripts to tweak. Simplest first and all.
posted by puke & cry at 7:02 PM on August 16, 2005
Ugh, head-slappingly stupid. I thought it switched back to google once the browser closed. Didn't even try it. I did start digging through the chrome folder looking for scripts to tweak. Simplest first and all.
posted by puke & cry at 7:02 PM on August 16, 2005
Well, puke & cry, I slapped my head too, if that helps. I kept seeing references to a pull-down menu when I searched for instructions, but no one bothered to give the actual damn instruction for seeing the freaking pull-down menu. Now that I know, I feel dense, but while it strikes me as an intuitive solution after the fact, it really was not as blindingly obvious as it could have been. And appropriate searches didn't pull up clear instructions at any Firefox or Yahoo! pages.
Grrr...The world needs more fucking technical writers with half a fucking brain.
posted by mediareport at 7:11 PM on August 16, 2005
Grrr...The world needs more fucking technical writers with half a fucking brain.
posted by mediareport at 7:11 PM on August 16, 2005
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posted by amberglow at 7:22 PM on August 15, 2005