If you’re getting a vague feeling these days that your Google searches are not as satisfying as they used to be, you’d be right. Google has decided you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Google, in it’s wisdom, has decided that you can just take your crummy search words and shove them.
While writing a previous post about Facebook’s own insanities, I was looking for like-minded writers on the Internet. It’s common to do this sort of search. The most famous example is to put in a company’s name and then add the word, “sucks.” (Don’t look at me like that – we all know you’ve done it).
Watch Closely – This Affects You
What Facebook did made me want to barf, but you’ll notice in the screen shot below that Google (in it’s infinite wisdom) figured I really meant “bar” – and gave me that in every single result:
The only problem? I didn’t mean “bar” – I meant “barf.” I actually had to change my search and treat my word like a phrase (by putting quotes around the word) in order to get the results I was looking for:
Notice that Google’s first idiot results numbered 767,000, compared to the correct 4,320. Isnt’ that enough to make you crazy?
The Queen of Search
I went out looking for help with this one and called on someone who knows (and I mean really knows). Tara Calishain is the author of “Google Hacks” and earlier this year she had written Google Localizes Google Suggest, “Improves” Spelling Suggestions:
Say I’m searching for Carolynn. There are plenty of people named Carolynn. However, there are more people named Carolyn and Google will a) suggest that as the correct spelling and b) put Carolyns in my search results.
Which is just completely nuts. It’s not only nuts, but other than Tara, no one is writing about this or complaining about it! Even Tara is a bit too gracious and generous, calling it Google’s “well-meaning results.”
In response to my fulminations, she wrote back:
Hi Michael. This is Google thinking it knows what you want to search for better than you do.
Yahoo and Bing and Ask, Oh My!
So, Google thinks it knows better.
There must be something in the tech water. People with lots of specialized and abstruse knowledge drink it and it makes them arrogant and stupid.
Mark Zuckerberg drinks it regularly. AOL binged on it for years and finally ended up face down in the gutter. But, you’d never think Google would succumb to the same kind of temptation. Until now.
Thank goodness Bing, Ask and Yahoo are not following Google. I’m moving my search business over to someone who cares what I’m looking for and trusts that I know what I’m doing. I’m going to bet others will be following fairly soon.
Sell your Google stock now.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Michael;
MakeUseOf.com had post about this a few days ago and offers their suggestions.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/google-show-fix/
Hope you have been well.
Rob
Thanks for the insight, Michael. After reading this, I did a search on Up to Know Good. Without the quotes around it, Google assumed I meant ‘up to no good.’ Not exactly the results I want people to find when they go looking for my site! Oh well. With quotes I did get better results. Next I’ll try the other search engines.
Thanks for the tip and great information!
Guess I don’t see what the big deal is, Michael. If I do a search and get results different from what I expected, I put in quotes or + and – signs to adjust the search. I would think that is part of Google 101.
Mr. Shore,
You are a genius – and it’s a great article. The only thing is that most people don’t know even the rudimentary stuff about search tricks (understandably) – so they are left scratching their heads when they type in a word – like they’ve been doing for years – and Google changes it! It used to be my spell checker. I’d put a Google search in for a couple of possible spellings and figure that the one with the most results was the right one.
But, I’m subscribing to whatever search engine you use! Nice pick-up, man.
Sara,
The scary thing – and I didn’t want to get into it in the article because it would have been too long – but Google is no longer even honoring quote marks around phrases. “Up to Know Good” – put into Google with those quote marks around it – used to return dead solid perfect instances of exactly that phrase. We’ll write about it sometime down the line, but now Google doesn’t even let you do that. As Snoopy always says, “ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH.”
Thanks Sara – what a perfect example from your own cleverly named inspirational website.
Hi Ken,
Depends on what world you travel around in. You, for instance, are a very savvy and well-read guy. You also are connected to one of the best “Tip Sheets” in the world, called SpeakerNet News.
Here’s my challenge to you. Ask just plain normal working folks (not techie types) how they would solve my example and see how many of them know.
You don’t realize just how savvy you are, Ken.
And why the heck SHOULD Google change my word “Barf” to “Bar?” It makes no sense.
I use Google as a contextual spelling aid. It works great when I’m trying to figure out the spelling of some word I misspelled so badly that even spell check can’t figure it out. I bet if you asked Google they would say there are more misspelled searches than there are proper searches. I wonder if there is some user preference controls for Google. Would Tara know?
Hi Craig, what exactly are you looking for? Google has a regular preferences page but I’m not aware of a way you can turn off the spelling suggestions. I tend to default to Ken’s use of +. I had to adjust a lot of search alerts, tho’. :->
Now that’s what the illustrious Amy Gahran would call a real discussion! Tara gets the award for commenting on a comment. Bloggers kill for folks like Tara. Thanks!