Understanding the new Google

From marketing to web search, the internet is changing rapidly & it is important to know the latest changes.

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Telecommunications

In search of excellence

Despite its overwhelming presence on the internet, the search engine leader is not content; it's anxious to do better
16/05/2012
Suchit Leesa-nguansuk

Getting ready for the Lady Gaga concert late this month? Check out the new Google Search Plus Your World and you'll be surprised at how many in your "circles" you will meet and probably hang out with later that night.

"Googling" has been part of the lingo for years concerning information searches.

The US-based search-engine giant has a 99% share of Thailand's search market and 91% worldwide, according to data from StatCounter.

To the dismay of rivals, including Microsoft's Bing, Google has been taking steps to ensure fresher, more relevant searches by tweaking its algorithm update system.

Google claims to process more than 1 billion queries each day, taking about a quarter of a second to respond to each query. Since 2003, it has answered 450 billion new unique queries, or searches it has never seen before. It indexes billions of web pages with more than 100 million gigabytes of data and used more than 200 signals or factors to calculate, process and rank a search result.

On average, every query has to travel 2,400 kilometres to get the answer back to the user.

Its instant preview feature, which shows the snapshot of a search result when the user hovers the cursor over the double arrow next to it, loads in one tenth of a second, the average speed of the blink of an eye.

But despite its formidable domination in ad-tied data searching, which has turned it into a $196.91-billion company, Google is determined to do more.

Engineering director Scott Huffman said Google had made a significant change to its search algorithm to help improve both freshness and relevance of search results.

For instance, if you type Olympic into the Google search box, you will get freshest results about the upcoming London Games, not the 1984 Olympics.

Mr Huffman said Google's algorithm changes could affect 35% of search results. It would also provide better rankings for high-quality sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, and thoughtful analysis.

Up until now, people went out of their ways to manipulate and trick search engines into giving their pages higher rankings. Among these search engine optimisation methods is keyword-stuffing technique.

"This method is completely outdated and adds no value to rankings. We no longer give good rankings to pages employing this technique," he said.

Mr Huffman said Google ran more than 58,000 experiments to evaluate its search result in 2011.

But he acknowledged that the search engine needs to be improved constantly as each day there are 16-20% of search queries that the system has never seen before.

He added that the greater adoption of mobile devices has driven searching traffic via mobile devices to grow at a faster rate than on desktop computers.

But many website owners are not aware of the need to modify or optimise their content and pages for better display on small mobile screens.

According to Google statistics, only one-third of global websites are optimised for mobile device displays.

"The more optimisation of content and layout for displaying on mobile devices, the longer users will spend at these websites," he said.

Mr Huffman said Google found that mobile users search for data the same way they do on desktop PCs. Mobile users also use it for complex tasks such as buying real estate, planning for vacations or searching for scientific documents.

The popularity of social networking also made search experience more "tailor-fit and personalised." 

Google is offering Search Plus Your World for the users of Google+, its answer to Facebook. Google Search Plus integrates social searching to personalise results. With Google Search Plus, users can see regular search results, along with all sorts of results tailored to them - pages shared with them by their Google+ friends and posts by people they know and content that is visible only to them.

In the near future, users could use voice command in their native tongues to search stuff, instead of typing search strings, Mr Huffman said.

For website owners, Google has four tips on how to create quality content to ensure a high ranking.

First, any web page should be designed primarily for users, not for search engines.

Second, website owners should also avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you feel comfortable explaining what you've done to a website that competes with you.

Third, don't participate in link schemes designed to increase web site's ranking or PageRank. And especially, do avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighbourhoods" on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.

Finally, don't use unauthorised computer programs to submit pages or check rankings. Such programs consume computing resources and violate Google's terms of service.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Telecommunications, In search of excellence, Despite its overwhelming presence on the internet, the search engine leader is not content; it's anxious to do better, 16/05/2012, Suchit Leesa-nguansuk, link) 

Search Engine Vocabulary

search engine - a computer program used to search for information on the internet, search results are presented as a list of results with web pages, ebooks, images, information, video and audio (See Wikipedia)
search - to look somewhere carefully in order to find something ค้นหา

googling - doing a web search, searching for web content on the internet, "using the Google search engine to obtain information on the Web. However, it can also be used as a general term for searching the internet using any search engine" (See Wikipedia)

rank - a position or level in a group or set
web site's ranking  - how high some web content is on web searches

content - the subject, ideas, or story that a piece of writing or a radio or television programme deals with เนื้อหา,สาระ
web content - content that people can get over the internet
not content - not satisfied or happy with a situation

Google search engine - (See Wikipedia)
PageRank - Google's system or "algorithm" for giving ranking websites, webpages and web content (See Wikipedia)

search engine optimisation (SEO) - the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search results, "the earlier or higher ranked on the search results page and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users" (See Wikipedia)

keyword-stuffing technique - when a web page is loaded with keywords in content or meta tags, considered to be an unethical search engine optimization (SEO) technique (See Wikipedia)

Microsoft's Bing - Microsoft's search engine (See Wikipedia)

social networking - websites like facebook or twitter where people meet each other, chat and share things on the web (photos, videos, articles, etc) (See Wikipedia)

social search - a type of web search that takes into account the Social Graph (social network of friends & associates) of the person initiating the search query (See Wikipedia)

Google+ - Google's social networking service, Google's answer to Facebook (See Wikipedia)
Google Search Plus Your World - social search for Google+ (See Google Blog)

excellence - the quality of being extremely good ความเป็นเลิศ
in search of excellence - what many people try hard (strive) to do in business or an activity of life, name of important business book (See Wikipedia)

presence - when someone or something is in a place การอยู่ในสถานที่หนึ่ง (ของบุคคล)
presence on the internet - when a company or person has a web page, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and is active on the web

overwhelming - much larger, stronger, more important than anyone or anything else in a situation
overwhelming presence on the internet

anxious - worried and nervous about something, feel that something bad will happen soon
anxious to do better - worry about doing better (really trying hard and wants to do better)

Despite its overwhelming presence on the internet, the search engine leader is not content; it's anxious to do better

circle - Same as "circle of friends" (Also Google+ feature)
circle of friends - all your close friends that you see often

hang out - be with friends and do something fun (Also Google+ feature)

Getting ready for the Lady Gaga concert late this month? Check out the new Google Search Plus Your World and you'll be surprised at how many in your "circles" you will meet and probably hang out with later that night.

lingo - the specialised words used by people who do a special kind of job

"Googling" has been part of the lingo for years concerning information searches.

share (verb) - to have or use something at the same time as someone else ใช้ร่วมกัน
share (noun) - the part of something that one person or organization has
has a 99% share of Thailand's search market

data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล

The US-based search-engine giant has a 99% share of Thailand's search market and 91% worldwide, according to data from StatCounter.

dismay - a feeling of being very unhappy and disappointed ท้อใจ, ผิดหวัง a strong feeling of fear or worry caused by something unpleasant
rivals - opponents; people you are fighting or competing against คู่อริ  คู่แข่ง

to the dismay of rivals

taking steps to - taking action to solve a problem or achieve some goals
ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ ให้การยืนยัน

relevant - directly connected and important to what is being discussed or considered ที่เกี่ยวข้อง  ที่เกี่ยวข้องโดยตรง
relevant searches 

tweaking - changing in small ways trying to fix something (See glossary)
algorithm - the steps or process that a computer program takes to solve some programming problem (See Wikipedia)
tweaking its algorithm - changing the computer program in small ways to make it work better

update - add the most recent information

To the dismay of rivals, including Microsoft's Bing, Google has been taking steps to ensure fresher, more relevant searches by tweaking its algorithm update system.

process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ

query - 1. to google something; submit a search to a search engine; 2. to ask a question about something
respond - to say or do something as a reaction to something that has been said or done ตอบสนอง, ตอบรับ
respond to query - the answer you get to the question or query (the search results you get back from googling something)

unique - different from others; very special, unusual or good ที่มีลักษณะพิเศษ เป็นเอกลักษณ์
unique queries - asking a question, searching for info, in a way that is different from others
450 billion new unique queries

index (noun) -  a easy to use list (usually alphabetical) that shows where things are located in a big collection of things
index (verb) - to make an index
indexes billions of web pages

gigabyte (GB) - a measure of files, data and information on a computer (currently the most meaningful for a hard drive or memory, such as 2GB memory or a 700 GB hard drive in a computer)
100 million gigabytes of data 

factors - the different things that affect the outcome of a situation, event, or decision ปัจจัย
signal - something that provides some meaning to someone
calculate - to discover a number or amount using mathematics คำนวน

uses 200 signals or factors to calculate, process and rank a search result.

Google claims to process more than 1 billion queries each day, taking about a quarter of a second to respond to each query. Since 2003, it has answered 450 billion new unique queries, or searches it has never seen before. It indexes billions of web pages with more than 100 million gigabytes of data and used more than 200 signals or factors to calculate, process and rank a search result.

user - computer or mobile phone user (or some other mobile device)

On average, every query has to travel 2,400 kilometres to get the answer back to the user.

feature - to include someone or something as an important part ทำให้เด่น
instant - you get it now (without any delay)

preview - to see a little about something before looking at all of it
instant preview feature

snapshot - a summary; a short description that summarizes or tells you what the situation is  
snapshot of search result

hover - keep in same position over something (like a helicopter "hovering" over the ground)
cursor - the small thing on the computer screen that user points at and makes selections with
hovers cursor over

arrow - a line pointing to something  ลูกธนู, ลูกศร
double - to become twice as big, twice as much or twice as many เพิ่มเป็นสองเท่า
double arrow

blink - when you blink, you close and then open your eyes quickly once or several times, and when an eye blinks, it does this กะพริบตา
the speed of a blink of an eye

Its instant preview feature, which shows the snapshot of a search result when the user hovers the cursor over the double arrow next to it, loads in one tenth of a second, the average speed of the blink of an eye.

formidable - very impressive and great in size, number or skill
domination - having control over a place or a person, or to be the most important person or thing การคุมอำนาจ
formidable domination - have great control over something (very impressive)

ad-tied data searching
formidable domination in ad-tied data searching

determined - wanting to do something very much and not letting anyone or any difficulties stop you ตั้งใจจริง, ซึ่งมุ่งมั่น
determined to do more - wanting very much to do more

But despite its formidable domination in ad-tied data searching, which has turned it into a $196.91-billion company, Google is determined to do more.

significant - important สำคัญ
made a significant change to its search algorithm

results - what is produced in the end by an activity or task
search results

improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
improve both freshness and relevance of search results.

Engineering director Scott Huffman said Google had made a significant change to its search algorithm to help improve both freshness and relevance of search results.

upcoming - will happen soon ที่กำลังจะมาถึง
upcoming - will happen soon Dr Somchai said efficient budget management would be
the upcoming London Games

For instance, if you type Olympic into the Google search box, you will get freshest results about the upcoming London Games, not the 1984 Olympics.

provide - to give someone something that they want or need
rankings - a list with the best first and the worst last
provide better rankings for high-quality sites

depth - the distance down either from the top of something to the bottom, or to a distance below the top surface of something ความลึก
in-depth - looking at the details of something 

in-depth reports
thoughtful analysis

Mr Huffman said Google's algorithm changes could affect 35% of search results. It would also provide better rankings for high-quality sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, and thoughtful analysis.

manipulate - skillfully move or control something; to control something or someone to your advantage, often unfairly or dishonestly ชักใย
went out of their ways to manipulate and trick search engines into giving their pages higher rankings

Up until now, people went out of their ways to manipulate and trick search engines into giving their pages higher rankings. Among these search engine optimisation methods is keyword-stuffing technique.

outdated - old and no longer suitable or useful, old-fashioned
outdated method

constantly - continuously; all the time อย่างต่อเนื่อง
improved constantly

"This method is completely outdated and adds no value to rankings. We no longer give good rankings to pages employing this technique," he said.  Mr Huffman said Google ran more than 58,000 experiments to evaluate its search result in 2011.  But he acknowledged that the search engine needs to be improved constantly as each day there are 16-20% of search queries that the system has never seen before.

adoption - starting to use a new system
mobile devices
adoption of mobile devices

traffic - the number traveling to a place during a period of time (people, aircraft, ships, trains, cars, trucks, etc.) ความหนาแน่นของจำนวนคน หรือยานพาหนะในช่วงเวลาใดช่วงเวลาหนึ่ง
driven searching traffic

He added that the greater adoption of mobile devices has driven searching traffic via mobile devices to grow at a faster rate than on desktop computers.

aware - knowing that something exists, or having knowledge or experience of a particular thing ทราบ
not aware of the need

mobile screens - the front of the mobile phone where you see information, texts and images
device - a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular thing เครื่องจักร อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ
mobile device displays - Same as "mobile screens"

modify - change

optimise (verb) - to make a process as good as possible
optimisation (noun)
optimise content - to make web content as good as possible (for the display on mobile phones)
optimisation of content
optimise their content for better display on small mobile screens

optimised for mobile device displays.

statistics - facts about something, described by counting them สถิติ
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
global websites

layout - 1. the way that something is arranged สถานที่ ; 2. arrangement of information on a mobile phone or computer screen (See Wikipedia)

But many website owners are not aware of the need to modify or optimise their content and pages for better display on small mobile screens. According to Google statistics, only one-third of global websites are optimised for mobile device displays.  "The more optimisation of content and layout for displaying on mobile devices, the longer users will spend at these websites," he said.

complex - difficult to understand (having many parts, connected in complicated ways) 
complex tasks - difficult things that people do (needing many steps and procedures)

tailor - a skilled worker who makes specially ordered clothes to fit a person (See Wikipedia)
tailor-fit - made specially for one person, to meet their needs and "fit" them

personalised - designed especially for the needs of a customer ทำตามที่ลูกค้าต้องการ

Mr Huffman said Google found that mobile users search for data the same way they do on desktop PCs. Mobile users also use it for complex tasks such as buying real estate, planning for vacations or searching for scientific documents. The popularity of social networking also made search experience more "tailor-fit and personalised." 

post - when people add something to their webpage, blog or facebook page

Google is offering Search Plus Your World for the users of Google+, its answer to Facebook. Google Search Plus integrates social searching to personalise results. With Google Search Plus, users can see regular search results, along with all sorts of results tailored to them - pages shared with them by their Google+ friends and posts by people they know and content that is visible only to them.

command - to control an electronic device
voice command - controlling your computer with your voice

native - someone who was born in a particular place ชาวพื้นเมือง
native tongues - the first language that a person speaks starting when they are a small child

search strings - the words used in a web search, used in googling

intended - planned; wanted to happen ที่ได้วางแผนไว้ ที่ตั้งใจให้เกิดขึ้น
tricks intended to improve search engine rankings

rule of thumb - a short easy to remember rule that can be used to solve everyday problems easily (See Wikipedia)

In the near future, users could use voice command in their native tongues to search stuff, instead of typing search strings, Mr Huffman said. For website owners, Google has four tips on how to create quality content to ensure a high ranking.  First, any web page should be designed primarily for users, not for search engines. Second, website owners should also avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you feel comfortable explaining what you've done to a website that competes with you.

participate - to take part in or become involved in an activity มีส่วน

links (noun) - connections ความเชื่อมโยงกัน
link (verb) - to connect เชื่อม

schemes - systems for achieving some goal
link schemes - systems to raise traffic at a website by sharing a link to the website with other websites

don't participate in link schemes designed to increase web site's ranking or PageRank.

spam - unwanted things sent to people over the internet (to email, facebook page, twitter account, etc) (See Wikipedia)
web spammers - people who make money by sending spam (usually advertisements) to many people over the internet

avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighbourhoods" on the web

adversely - in a bad or negative way
affected adversely - affected in a bad way
your own ranking may be affected adversely

unauthorised - without having permission to do something ที่ไม่ได้รับอนุญาต
submit - to formally give something to someone so that can make a decision about it ยื่น (เอกสาร) เพื่อการพิจารณา ยื่น เสนอ (เอกสาร) ให้พิจารณา

consume - to use a supply of something ใช้จนหมดไป
resources - things such as money, workers and equipment that can be used to help achieve something ทรัพยากร
consume computing resources

violate - to do something that is against a law, rule or agreement ฝ่าฝืนกฎหมาย ละเมิดกฏหมาย
terms - conditions; requirements; details and conditions in an agreement, contract, or arrangement ข้อกำหนด
terms of service - the agreement that a user has to agree to before they can receive a service
violate terms of service
violate Google's terms of service

Third, don't participate in link schemes designed to increase web site's ranking or PageRank. And especially, do avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighbourhoods" on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.  Finally, don't use unauthorised computer programs to submit pages or check rankings. Such programs consume computing resources and violate Google's terms of service.