Google Strives to Further Improve Search Functionality

admin | September 12, 2008

Despite Google’s dominant position in the search industry, the internet giants decision makers insist that search is not a solved problem, and that there is still much room for improvement.
Our position is that search is a very hard problem. We have still a lot of work to do, commented internal engineer, Douglas Merrill, noting that 70% of Googles efforts still go into improving search, as opposed to developing other services.

It is not enough to have the information, the information should be right, Merrill went on to say. Sometimes the problem is figuring out what the users mean, not what the user said.
At this point, some of Google’s main projects include improving mobile web search, personalized search, and language translation features, as well as finding new ways to combat search engine optimization spam.

By keeping its focus on core search functionality, the internet giant is demonstrating its belief that no search algorithm can be too good, while recognizing the continual progress of competitors. This goes to show that even the mighty Google must work hard to maintain the upper hand against rivals like Yahoo and Microsoft.