The Search That's Better Than Search?

Every so often, it dawns on you that the whole Internet environment has traveled too far from that quiet, information-oriented era that got you so interested in the medium in the first place. Attendees at my Nielsen Norman User Experience seminar in Boston on Sunday (including a number of "old hands" in Internet years, many of them web developers) expressed sentiments that (in spite of me showing slides outlining the obvious dominance of the leading SE's) seemed to say "I try to find search sites where it's uncluttered and quiet, away from the crowd." The cluttered look of SERP's with 10 ads on them (3 of those on top), among other things, was cited as a reason why a small core of power users will seek more low-key venues. But it isn't just ad clutter, is it? On some of your favorite search queries, you've probably been disappointed by the general indexes. For example, look at the regular search results for this new-product query in the automotive world. You see the usual ads and the usual list of "car info portals." But for vibrant, current commentary, you want to know what's going on in the blogosphere, and in the news. Page Zero Media, a marketing consultancy which focuses on maximizing clients' paid search marketing campaigns.