Under embargo last week, I spoke to Marissa Mayer about Google search. I do this often, as part of the normal news cycle, but this time was different. After clearing her throat with some 7th birthday news, she dropped the other shoe – Google is now claiming that its…
Under embargo last week, I spoke to Marissa Mayer about Google search. I do this often, as part of the normal news cycle, but this time was different. After clearing her throat with some 7th birthday news, she dropped the other shoe – Google is
now claiming that its index is three times bigger than its competition. “Wow!” I said. “How can you tell?” “Tests we’ve done,” Mayer responded. “But…those are the same tests we’ve been
debating since August, right? The same tests Yahoo claims are inconclusive and not to be trusted!”
Yup, that’s right. The index wars are over, at least in terms of raw counting. Google has taken its ball and gone home. The company has decided to take the McDonalds like number off its website – “8 billion pages served…”, and instead simply claim to be more comprehensive. “Google is the most comprehensive search engine by far,” Mayer told me. Can she prove that? Not easily. But there you have it.
Problem is, while Google is clearly sincere in making this claim – I don’t doubt they believe it – the company refuses to call out any numbers or walk anyone through how they can prove it (other than a battery of disputed tests that honestly, no single person could reliably execute anyway).
Read More