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Old 12-01-2019, 08:18 AM   #21
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DuckDuckGo for me too. Google is dishonest.
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Old 12-01-2019, 08:59 AM   #22
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This thread reminds me of an old grandpa complaining to his grandkids about internet search engines.
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Old 12-01-2019, 09:53 AM   #23
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LOL.
When I search on the "USAA will not insure beach home" using the quotes, the 3 (yes, only 3) results are:
Ad for USAA
this thread
Ad for State Farm
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Old 12-01-2019, 09:56 AM   #24
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site:usaa.com Does USAA insure vacation home

Tweak the search as you may see fit.
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Old 12-01-2019, 10:10 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by LOL! View Post
This thread reminds me of an old grandpa complaining to his grandkids about internet search engines.
Sounds like grandpa was a smart man. ;-)

To me this thread reflects a decline in Google search usefulness, as witnessed by many tech savvy people.
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Old 12-01-2019, 01:20 PM   #26
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I had the same epiphany as the OP, but it was about 10 years ago.


Back then (or earlier), I considered my self an expert at crafting a query that found what I was really looking for. It involved some syntax, so more like an SQL query than a 'natural language' query. But as time passed, it became less and less effective and it seemed like I'd get results of "what they wanted me to see" as opposed to "what I asked for".


If you want to know something about things that "everyone" is asking questions about, you can use a 'natural language' query, and very often it will nail it; DW amazes me with her speed to answer questions just talking into her phone and then the phone answers with audio. But the questions are usually main-stream and not that 'hard'.



If you want to know something from far off in the 'tails' of knowledge, you often need to narrow your search. I often find a site that I consider worthy, then append the "site:www.worthysite.com" to my query. I'd like to be able to specify a black list for those "answers" sites that give lame answers, like how to change a tire: 1) park car, 2) assess safety, 3) find spare tire, 4) change the tire. Geeze! Anyway, sounds like I'm producing a matching a rant with the OP, hehe!
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Old 12-01-2019, 03:06 PM   #27
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No doubt google search’s are getting more and more commercial.
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Old 12-01-2019, 03:31 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sengsational View Post
I had the same epiphany as the OP, but it was about 10 years ago.


............... Back then (or earlier), I considered my self an expert at crafting a query that found what I was really looking for. It involved some syntax, so more like an SQL query than a 'natural language' query. But as time passed, it became less and less effective and it seemed like I'd get results of "what they wanted me to see" as opposed to "what I asked for".


........... .
+1. I often spend 15 minutes trying to arrange what should be an easy combo of search words, to get some specific info, and all I get is 1,000 sites addressing some related info but does NOT answer my question. Example: What is the price of one pint of beer at Joe's Tavern? No answer! A million Joe's Tavern websites, a million reviews of Joe's tavern, a huge list of the different types of beer and ales and wines available at Joe's Tavern, who likes them, who doesn't, and when they first started carrying them, etc ad infinitum. . But, of course, **never.. a... price.... mentioned ***, not even on a ******* menu !!! Gaarrrggghhh.... But the other search engines seem just as bad, or worse.
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Old 12-01-2019, 03:33 PM   #29
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Zipcode Joe's Tavern pint of beer price
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Old 12-01-2019, 03:41 PM   #30
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Zipcode Joe's Tavern pint of beer price
Doesn't help. The 1,000 Joe's Tavern websites I referred to in my hypothetical were 1,000 websites referring to the same exact Joe's Tavern. I exaggerated a bit. Some hyperbole, maybe. But sometimes there are many different url's for the same exact business.
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Old 12-01-2019, 04:07 PM   #31
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There's also a bias to throw you at youtube... another Alphabet property.

It used to be you needed info on how to change the weedlezip valve on the fombast, and you could get a ton of nice, wordy blog hits with pictures. Those are now pushed way down in deference to somebody who produced some shaky picture, and you have to wade through the video to get the little answer you really want. Again, ad revenue is involved here on many different levels.
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Old 12-01-2019, 05:04 PM   #32
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One issue: the 'filter bubble' problem

https://fs.blog/2017/07/filter-bubbles/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/01...a43c867a25fee3

Ways to bypass it (and hopefully improve search results)

https://duckduckgo.com

https://startpage.com

Both anonymize your search, bypassing Google's considerable data profile on you. Supposedly.
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Old 12-01-2019, 05:05 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ls99 View Post
AFIK DDG does use google search engine, it just uses it better.
Not really, it has it's own spider (indexer) and so on, but what you may be thinking about is that DDK can be directed to send your query to google.

ddg> look this up g!

The "g!" directs it to google. And it's done in a private way so that google doesn't know it was you asking. Can be useful at times.

There are other "bang shortcuts" (as they are called) supported by Duck Duck Go:

https://duckduckgo.com/bang
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Old 12-01-2019, 08:54 PM   #34
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I mostly use Bing. It's much shorter and easier to type.
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Old 12-02-2019, 07:48 AM   #35
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Originally Posted by mpeirce View Post
There are other "bang shortcuts" (as they are called) supported by Duck Duck Go:

https://duckduckgo.com/bang
Thanks for that bit of information!


Back in the old days, in some search schemes, bang meant 'not'.


But I like that bang means "search only that site". Like the "site:www.somesite.com", but a lot easier to type.
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Old 12-02-2019, 07:56 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mpeirce View Post
Not really, it has it's own spider (indexer) and so on, but what you may be thinking about is that DDK can be directed to send your query to google.

ddg> look this up g!

The "g!" directs it to google. And it's done in a private way so that google doesn't know it was you asking. Can be useful at times.

There are other "bang shortcuts" (as they are called) supported by Duck Duck Go:

https://duckduckgo.com/bang
Thanks for the link, very useful.
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Old 12-02-2019, 08:59 AM   #37
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Everything will forever remain just as it is right now

Google will always be the internet search engine of choice. It won't become bloated with ads or cookies or tracking software. And it won't try to manipulate users in any way.

Same goes for Apple and Microsoft and Amazon; their dominance cannot be challenged. Facebook and Netflix are here to stay.

Also, Toyota will never be able to compete with General Motors. You can believe everything you read in the New York Times. The Curse of the Bambino will haunt the Red Sox til the end of time; ditto for the Cubs and the goat.
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Old 12-02-2019, 09:17 AM   #38
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Recently, I have noticed a distinct change in what results Google shows me when I search for something. When I would put in a specific statement, the first page would usually show something relevant to what I was looking for. More recently, these will be "down the list" more as the ads are displayed first. Now, I am noticing that Google tends to just IGNORE some of the search query. As an example, I searched for "USAA will not insure beach home" and it didn't return a SINGLE result (I did not proceed past the first page) that was relevant. Were there ads for USAA? Of course! (I attached a pic of my search results).
Those are not ads. Those are relevant search results based on your search terms, which are:

USAA
will
not
insure
beach
home

You should have put "will not insure beach home" in quote marks to make it an exact search phrase. Otherwise you will get the results you asked for.

Quote:
I have also noticed that my Google "Now" feed (on tablet/mobile phone) will continue to show subjects I have ZERO interest in...such as weight loss. I will go to the settings page and no where is there an interest that is remotely close to weight loss. And if I pull down the specific story (where you can tell Google that you aren't interested in that subject or news provider) the subject are will not be there...you can say "don't show stories from XXX news" but nothing about "don't show stories about weight loss".
This could be happening because at one point you clicked on a story about weight loss, fat people, dieting or something similar. This click must carry a lot of emphasis with advertisers so they continue to target you with these ads.

As an example, about six months ago, curious as to how she looks nowadays, I clicked on a story about actress Elizabeth Hurley turning 54 years old. I still get feeds in my Google News app: "Elizabeth Hurley looks stunning in two piece bikini" or "Elizabeth Hurley looks smashing in lavender gown".

There is a way to flush your cookies, ad search history from Chrome browser to get rid of these annoying ads, but, funny, Google makes it difficult to find out how to do it!
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Old 12-02-2019, 09:17 AM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by target2019 View Post
site:usaa.com Does USAA insure vacation home

Tweak the search as you may see fit.
Except, USAA isn't going to fess up on a FAQ (or similar) page that they aren't insuring many beach areas...you would have to call or start an online quote.

Quote:
Originally Posted by GrayHare View Post
Sounds like grandpa was a smart man. ;-)

To me this thread reflects a decline in Google search usefulness, as witnessed by many tech savvy people.
Thanks, GrayHare. I had something more condescending to say, but decided against it. I think I am a pretty tech savvy guy and am pretty familiar with searching complex databases (recent examples are Lexis Nexis and Westlaw) and how you can manipulate the search to optimize results. These techniques were once useful to me on Google but not so much anymore.

I also understand that Google is out there to sell ads to eyeballs, and I have no issue with that...it's the usefulness that I am questioning.

OK...looks like there is kid on my lawn; I have to go yell at them now.

At any rate, I will give DDG a try and see if that brings some improvement.
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Old 12-02-2019, 09:19 AM   #40
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Well, "search engine loading" has been around for quite a while. Sites that want you to see them on top of your search results will "load" their sites with key terms. I just assumed that what you're talking about, is the result of loading.
This is called "keyword stuffing" and Google became wise to this years ago. It's no longer an effective way to rise in the Google search results. In fact, Google penalizes webmasters for doing this.
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