Yahoo and MSN Beat Google, MSN and Google Beat Yahoo, etc...

**incrediblehelp** · #1 (**permalink**) 07-08-2006, 04:39 PM

Yahoo and MSN Beat Google, MSN and Google Beat Yahoo, etc. What Are Your Examples?

I wanted to start a fun thread where everyone can posts examples of queries where Yahoo and MSN got it right and Google completely misses the boat. Maybe Yahoo and Google are right and MSN has terrible results, etc, etc.

Basically posting the queries where 2 out of the 3 big boys got it right and the other one is left looking completely ridiculous.

I think this would really help everyone (experts and newbie's) alike understand what many of thaw SEO experts are saying of late about how Google has messed things up a bit since the Big Daddy data release or sometimes called infrastructure update.

It can also help show how MSN newest algo and SERP release seems to be more IBL heavy, while showing that Yahoo still seems to use a equal combination of off page and on page factors comparable to its two counterparts.

I just have one very simple example to get it started. Here on WPW I created a thread that everyone may be familiar with called "SEO, Where Do I Begin?" I also posted the content on my personal blog and called the post, "DYI SEO, Where Do I Begin?". Since then the article has also been picked up on other internet marketing websites like SEG, which I would expect to rank as well. Lets see where these three examples shake out in the top search engines:

Keyword queried on all three search engines without quotes: "SEO, Where Do I Begin"

Google:SEO, Where Do I Begin

SEG #1
WPW #3
JK #?

MSN: SEO, Where Do I Begin

JK #1
WPW #3
SEG #132

Yahoo: SEO, Where Do I Begin

WPW #1
JK #7 and #9
SEG #11

Now I am not really looking for article examples like I posted above. We all know article distribution can greatly effect rankings in a poor way. In fact the article examples above and others is actually a poor way of displaying what I am really after. In fact all three search engines did a pretty good job.

I am looking for more common product and service searches that your frustrated with how the SERPs appear on Google, yet they appear you would guess on MSN or Yahoo.

Looking forward to it.

dburdon · #2 (**permalink**) 07-09-2006, 07:57 AM

Jaan,

here's one. I have to admit a vested interest. I have a client that's no.1 for the term Septic Tanks on Yahoo and MSN. But he's nowhere to be seen on Google.

MSN Septic Tanks

Yahoo Septic Tanks

Google Septic Tanks

Yahoo and MSN seem to bias sites actually selling septic tank services. Google seems to have a bias towards .ac, .edu, the BBC etc. Maybe Google has it right and that the idea we should be optimising web sites to sell is wrong. But hold on, what about Adwords? Without good material in the organic results Adwords is dead.

**incrediblehelp** · #3 (**permalink**) 07-10-2006, 11:43 AM

Good example dburdon for this thread. I am surprised there are not many more in this thread.

dburdon · #4 (**permalink**) 07-10-2006, 11:56 AM

Jaan,

thanks. I've always been fascinated by the variation between the 3 engines. Maybe others are less so.

**incrediblehelp** · #5 (**permalink**) 07-14-2006, 02:02 PM

Not really a comparison here, but a funny one on Google non-the-less. I guess Yahoo and therapy products are related? Saw this via Threadwatch. So weird.

http://www.google.com/search?q=therapy+products

kevan · #6 (**permalink**) 07-14-2006, 08:23 PM

Well,
I have probably said this before - I get number one for all my keyword searches in Yahoo consistently. I update and add loads of fresh pages on a very regular basis.
Google, on the other hand, is good for searching [I use it all of the time, sadly] but does suffer from 'dead' sites/links and probably because of duplication of content on my sites, I lose out over time in their rankings. I have no other explanation - I don't think google is rubbish, just misguided.
Do I care? I will just keep adding new fresh content until the search engine wakes up to the market. I wish I had bought shares when it floated, but I would not touch their stock with a barge pole now in the search market. I think Yahoo will win this war eventually.
Just for completeness, ask.com suffers from googles weaknesses - too slow, old links and another dinosaur in the making. Google will lose out if they continue with their marketing ploy of adding crap advertising sites over useful content, eventually.
Kevan

kevan · #7 (**permalink**) 07-14-2006, 08:33 PM

Sorry,
I forgot to mention sites that I run.
essexpub.net - this consistently scores well in google and others, but has been running for years.
londonpublichouse.com - suffers from a links page from rootsgen.com which lists updates. The latter site gets all the glory, although it is just a link page and has no other useful content - this is atypical of google.
Other sites include and essex1841.com & visiteastlondon.net - which are recognised / or not as to the relevant search.
I earn enough from adsense to cover site costs for these sites, which is why I use the service - I have never found any of the affiliates programs worth bothering with - and do this mostly for fun.
Any recommendations on how to make a living without being one of the leper link sites would be very welcome.
Thanks
Kevan

neosite · #8 (**permalink**) 07-14-2006, 09:05 PM

i just typed in my url like this:
doorcountytraditions

#1 in G and Y (as i should be)

M has my profile here as #1, and #2 & #3 are another sites stas from Extreme Tracking software. I finally show up on #4 & #5 but it isn't my home page.

Weedy Lady · #9 (**permalink**) 07-14-2006, 10:08 PM

Here is your 3-way comparison.....

Term: free cards
Results:

Google #14 (this varies by country and by the minute sometimes)

MSN #4

Yahoo - not in the first 90

However when I type the actual name of my site into Yahoo I come up #1 and #2.

My only question is how do the 16% of my visitors that come from Yahoo ever find me????

murphypj · #10 (**permalink**) 07-15-2006, 10:57 PM

WeedyLady said:

Quote:

My only question is how do the 16% of my visitors that come from Yahoo ever find me????

Does your tracker show you the search terms used to visit your site? I used to feature top 3 on G and Y for "guitar chords", and was really cheesed off when I dropped to #8 on G and #4 on Y, as this phrase was always top of the traffic numbers list.

As it turned out, there was only a minimal drop in traffic, when I checked my stats I was receiving SE traffic for over 500 search terms, including high % for unexpected terms like "pj" and "pop songs".

I guess sometimes we make assumptions about the phrases searchers will use to find the kind of resource we provide, and focus all of our efforts on optimising these.

Information is power - if you don't already, I would suggest you get some software to monitor your stats. Other posters will, I'm sure, recommend some top quality stats providers, WebTrends has always been popular, but you can get some excellent stats from free services like AddFreeStats and .... Google Analytics!

Hope this helps, and best of success with the site.

PJ

Weedy Lady · #11 (**permalink**) 07-15-2006, 11:08 PM

yes, my stats show the key words used to access my site.

The question on this thread was about rankings in the "big 3" and how they compare for any given keyword.

I answered the question.

murphypj · #12 (**permalink**) 07-15-2006, 11:43 PM

O...kay, sorry if I went off topic there, but you did ask a question - "how do the 16% of my visitors that come from Yahoo ever find me????"

I was trying to be helpful with your secondary question. If you do have good stats, you surely would know which Y! search terms are delivering the 16%?

I promise not to be helpfully off-topic in future?

PJ

neosite · #13 (**permalink**) 07-16-2006, 06:59 AM

it takes a lot to make over 300 posts in this forum..

i am suspecting that there was some sarcasm lost in these last responses (as this post is only partially 'real', 'member its for fun-lets keep perspective)

Quote:

I wanted to start a fun thread where everyone can posts examples of queries where Yahoo and MSN got it right and Google completely misses the boat. Maybe Yahoo and Google are right and MSN has terrible results, etc, etc.

most everyone here knows how to run searches and exploit the results, this is a thread to do just that.

Example:

Search: gobbldy gook

G & Y = www.otwa.com/community/showthread.php?t=27857

M = http://www.getty.edu/education/teach...ct02/0289.html

goood times! good times! good times!!!

^5 incredible help!

kgun · #14 (**permalink**) 07-16-2006, 12:04 PM

Very interesting thread. This thread should go on for years at WPW and become a classic. As it grows it gives one real example of how the big three differ on the SERP’s. If this thread goes on, we should retry the experiment after some time.

Here are mine two (three) examples:

financial stability

The site I am looking for:
http://www.fsforum.org/home/home.html

#2 on Google
#1 on Yahoo
#12 on msn

General impression on the other top hits for the search term. Google and Yahoo is nearly similar and good, but msn is bad in my personal opinion.

”Object oriented programming”

The site I am looking for:
http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~kristen/FORS..._OO_start.html

#15 on Google
#48 on Yahoo
Not found on the first 11 pages on msn search.

More specific free search

object oriented programming how it started

#1 on Google
#1 on Yahoo
#2 on msn

**incrediblehelp** · #15 (**permalink**) 07-17-2006, 04:52 PM

Interesting posts. The results are even different now that MSN updated and yahoo has last week.

kgun · #16 (**permalink**) 08-22-2006, 08:54 AM

Nobody posting here. That should be a real experiment that could make WPW more known in the search industry.

So WPW members revitalize this thread instead of participating in "religious SE wars."

Proposal: Make it sticky.

**incrediblehelp** · #17 (**permalink**) 08-22-2006, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgun

Nobody posting here. That should be a real experiment that could make WPW more known in the search industry.

I think it is because not that many people actually do this kind of comparisons, to bad.

**ctabuk** · #18 (**permalink**) 08-22-2006, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dburdon

Jaan,

here's one. I have to admit a vested interest. I have a client that's no.1 for the term Septic Tanks on Yahoo and MSN. But he's nowhere to be seen on Google.

MSN Septic Tanks

Yahoo Septic Tanks

Google Septic Tanks

Yahoo and MSN seem to bias sites actually selling septic tank services. Google seems to have a bias towards .ac, .edu, the BBC etc. Maybe Google has it right and that the idea we should be optimising web sites to sell is wrong. But hold on, what about Adwords? Without good material in the organic results Adwords is dead.

Septic Tanks is rhyming slang for Yanks -does that give you a clue?