Yahoo outperforms Google in search

Nano-publishers that develop high-quality content often obsess over their ranking in Google search results. This is fairly understandable because of the hype about Google. After all, Google has the largest market share in search though it is closely followed by Yahoo now.

What we want to discuss in this article is conclusion of some research that we have conducted in the Ecreativa network of websites.

• There is a fundamental problem with the PageRank system that derives its value from links (that count as votes or approvals). This approach has long been criticized because (i) newly published, up-to-date, and high-quality content that takes time to get sufficient number of links does not show up in search results for weeks/months while poor content keeps showing up (ii) it is possible to get lots of links, sometimes by even buying them on eBay (iii) a publisher could devote enough resources to get links to a poor website and another publisher may focus on generating only high-quality content and not bother about links; the result is that poor websites run by crooks often show up very high in search results (iv) since Google's approach is link-based, time sensitive information, for example, evolving stories like Vioxx recall, may not show up in Google search results because they do not have enough links. Google search results instead show Vioxx related information that is months old (v) Google is best for small websites that have only limited number of pages. To search large websites that have new pages added on a daily basis, like MYNIPPON Lifestyle, Google is useless.
• Yahoo uses a totally different approach to ranking. In our research, we found that even if the page has zero links, but had good content, it can show up very high in search results.

What does it mean for content management?

1. Don't obsess over Google. While it has done a remarkable job in indexing the web, it is not perfect.
2. If you publish new content on a daily basis on new pages, Yahoo is a better search engine to optimize for. Google will eventually catch up but for a few months your hard work will not show up in Google results.
3. Content is still king. Not only will it bring higher ranking in search engine results, good content is what brings visitors back and makes them recommend your website to others or put a link to your website on theirs.

Recommended link: Design websites for readers, not robots