Forget Patent Claims, Where Are Non Google Travel Sites?
December 27, 2011
The answer, I think, is, “Lower than Google’s own travel site.” Big surprise to you? I can only honk for myself, but no big deal. Look Google owns its own proprietary service. Google, like any owner of a search and retrieval system, can control the placement of ads, images, and content. I use the phrase “hit boosting” to describe positional tagging, but there are probably more sophisticated “real” experts able to explain what is pretty fundamental functionality.
According to the estimable Wall Street Journal, Google has attracted some attention for online travel query results. Navigate to “Google Roils Travel.” The story appears online and on the front page of the Murdoch publication. If there is a 404 for the link, contact Mr. Murdoch, not the goose. Here’s the key passage:
Google searches such as “NY to LA” now yield a Google-powered interactive chart of the cheapest airfares between the two cities. Google’s flight tool links exclusively to the airlines’ Web sites.Pushed further down on the screen are links to top travel websites, which rely on Google for 10% to 20% of their traffic, according to web analytics firm Compete Inc.
The write up includes this bit of Google output:
The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating Google’s practices for the past six months. In mid-December, leaders of the Senate’s antitrust subcommittee urged the FTC to investigate further, raising questions whether Google could remain an “unbiased” search engine while owning products such as its flight-search tool, “from which the company derives substantial advertising revenues.” In a written response to the committee last month, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt defended Google products’ placement, saying the company’s fundamental goal is “to connect users to the information they seek,” and thus for many searches, the company aims to provide answers rather than just links.
Our position is that debating Google about how results display can be an interesting exercise. Anyone who has configured search results understands that there are opportunities to shape what appears regardless of the system—Boolean, predictive, look up table driven, saved query based, etc.
If you want objective travel results, good luck. Looking for a ticket to Albuquerque over the last three days, the price and availability of the tickets changed with each query. I used airline Web sites, aggregators, and smart services like Kayak.com. The problem, gentle reader, is that he who controls the Web site and the hit boosting has an opportunity to direct traffic. Picking on Google is not what we do. Relying on any single search system is not what we do.
If you want to be a savvy searcher, you will need multiple IP addresses, several computers, and some help to run multiple queries across different systems simultaneously. Using that method, you can see a price and act on it before the systems work their magic.
Lots of work, right? Well, that what makes most people running online queries in search of a deal take what’s provided. Research IS work and only one or two percent of queries reflect that type of effort. As long as those using online systems want a microwaved pot pie, you take what you get. Hey, no once forced you to buy that microwave meal just as no one forces me to use Google to locate a travel deal. Oh, don’t forget that new Factiva app which the Wall Street Journal prominently displayed in its newspaper. See any similarity between the placement of the Factiva ad and Google’s travel links? Gee, I do. Check with your azure chip consultant to be sure, of course. Better yet, attend an SEO conference where truth runs like water under a bridge.
Stephen E Arnold, December 27, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Comments
One Response to “Forget Patent Claims, Where Are Non Google Travel Sites?”
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
[…] Forget Patent Claims, Where Are Non Google Travel Sites … The answer, I think, is, “Lower than Google's own travel site.” Big surprise to you? I can only honk for myself, but no big deal. Look Google owns its own proprietary service. Google, like any owner of a search and retrieval system, can control … http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/ — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 04:34:17 -0800 […]