The Web did not have sophisticated search engines when it began. The most
advanced information gatherers of the day primitively matched file names. You
had to know the name of the file you were looking for to find anything. The first
file that matched was returned. There was no such thing as search relevancy. It
was this lack of relevancy that lead to the early popularity of directories such as
Yahoo!.
Many search engines such as AltaVista, and later Inktomi, were industry leaders for
a period of time, but the rush to market and lack of sophistication associated with
search or online marketing prevented these primitive machines from having
functional business models.
Overture was launched as a pay-per-click search engine in 1998. While the
Overture system (now known as Yahoo! Search Marketing) was profitable, most
portals were still losing money. The targeted ads they delivered grew in popularity
and finally created a functional profit generating business model for large-scale
general search engines.
Commercialized Cat & Mouse
Web = Cheap Targeted Marketing
As the Internet grew in popularity, people realized it was an incredibly cheap
marketing platform. Compare the price of spam (virtually free) to direct mail (~ $1
each). Spam fills your inbox and wastes your time.
Information retrieval systems (search engines) must also fight off aggressive
marketing techniques to keep their search results relevant. Search engines market
their problems as spam, but the problem is that they need to improve their
algorithms.
It is the job of search engines to filter through the junk to find and return relevant
results.
There will always be someone out there trying to make a quick buck. Who can fault
some marketers for trying to find holes in parasitic search systems that leverage
others’ content without giving any kickback?
Becoming a Resource
Though I hate to quote a source I do not remember, I once read that one in three
people believe the top search result is the most relevant document relating to their
search. Imagine the power associated with people finding your view of the world
first. Whatever you are selling, someone is buying!