New default 10 listings per SERP?

[tcampione]

I setup a new computer today and of course, I had no Yahoo preferences set. I did a search though, and found just 10 listings per page.

Hasn't the default been 20? I'm constantly changing preferences across many SEs but was sure: Google 10, MSN 15, Yahoo 20.

Am I that out of it? If not, when did it change?

[Jamie]

I am in South America but I have seen this fluctuating for the last few weeks from 10 to 20 for the same search term.

[ronniethedodger]

Originally Posted by tcampione

Hasn't the default been 20? I'm constantly changing preferences across many SEs but was sure: Google 10, MSN 15, Yahoo 20.

Am I that out of it? If not, when did it change?

You are not out of it. It was 20, now they are defaulting to 10 for some reason.

But this is just like Yahoo, isn't it? Considering that they have so many sponsor results per page, plus links into their Shopping portal (or whatever) ... why should they share the page with 20 or more organic results? To see the next 10 now, gives them twice as much exposure for their paid listings.

[tcampione]

Originally Posted by ronniethedodger

But this is just like Yahoo, isn't it? {. . .} To see the next 10 now, gives them twice as much exposure for their paid listings.

Yes, it is just like Yahoo. . . and Google for that matter. The sad part is that I don't think the average 'Joe Surfer' notices or even cares. I've asked my friends which SE they use most often, and why. Most say Google with the second most being AOL. As for why, not one has ever given me a good reason. ("uhhh I dunno")

Clearly, none of my friends knows that you can set preferences, so they all use the SE default. Never have I heard "I like Yahoo because I get 20 listings per page which means less navigation and a lower ratio of ads to organics." So, Yahoo doubles their real estate and no one but SEOs and webmasters gives a hoot.

[ronniethedodger]

tcampione - all very good points. Now let's see what MSN does. They will probably follow suit.

[pne]

Hi Guys,

Depressing isn't it. Not only is the default now 10 they're also messing with caches, unable to read page titles properly (hence reverting to old cache IMHO) etc.

The thing is they could be good.

pne

[tcampione]

Originally Posted by pne

The thing is they could be good.

Yeah. . . maybe they should think less about private labeling electronics and focus on their core business. :-)

I actually have a long standing fondness for Yahoo. They were my first SE, before there was a Google. And of course, I never forget my first.

It seems like Google is off its stride right now, maybe trying to deal with being a public company. This is a great time for Yahoo to come on strong and pick up ground. But, it seems like they can't make the needed move. So, we'll see when Microsoft gets serious and does their launch. With the other two fumbling a bit, it could be anyone's game.

/*tom*/