Google’s Search Wiki Explained

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 | Lawyer Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments

On November 20th Google launched a new version of their flagship search product that they are referring to as Search Wiki.  I actually came across this product back in January 2008 when I noticed it on the computer of a potential client.  I went home and tried to get it for myself back then, only to discover that it was being “bucket tested” for random selection of Google users.  Apparently those 10+ months of testing led Google to believe that the product was something that people would want and use, and that might eventually be true.  In the past 3 days, however, I have seen it cause a good bit of confusion with my colleagues and clients.

What is Search Wiki?  I’ve heard people describe it as a DIGG for search, and it certainly LOOKS like Digg with its up and down arrows.  I’ve also heard people who latch onto the term WIKI and insist that it is some sort of collaborative ranking system.  So far, neither of those seem to be true.  

As of this moment, whatever effort you put into “voting” for search results is only for your own personal use.  Your votes DO NOT affect the SERPS of any other Google user.  To see for yourself, log out of Google and see how the voting disappears (in fact, you can only vote if you logged in).

The only indelible mark you can leave on the SERPS is with comments.  Comments ARE viewable by other users, and the thinking goes that users will get the most out of searches if they get the SERPS from the traditional algorithm but can then discern value of those results by reading the comments of searchers who came before them.  It’s actually an idea with great merit (I look at Amazon reviews before buying anything), but unfortunately they still have to work a few kinks out.

The biggest problem so far is that it took about 5 minutes for spammers to start seeding the comments sections with their advertisements.  Likewise, I am sure that people will start to setup fake Google accounts so that they can write terrible things about their competitors.   The nice thing about the traditional Google algorithm is that it really cannot be gamed so easily.   We trust the Google “reference librarian” and assume that the sites that are recommended are given to us based on an objective, not subjective formula.  

So while I see some value to Search Wiki, here is hoping that Google keeps its impact to a minimum.  I’d also like to see them allow users to turn it off without logging out.  As a Gmail user it is getting annoying having to log out of Gmail just to do a traditional Google search.  

One final note to my clients & prospects who often meet with companies that tout how they can move you up in the Google results.  Anytime someone is demonstrating how well their sites do in the organic results, make sure they are LOGGED OUT of google.   If you see Green Arrows on the page, or their email in the top right corner, then they are logged in and potentially manipulating the results.  This has actually been a best practice for a while since Google has been personalizing results for a few years now, but Search Wiki has made it all the more important.  Don’t let some snake oil salesman fool you.

Google has posted a You Tube video explaining Search Wiki.  I’ve embedded it below.
Google SearchWiki video

Tags: Google, Search Wiki, SearchWiki