[LM_NET] TARGET: change in Google search results?

[Cheryl Youse <cyouse@GMAIL.COM>]

Last year I shared a lesson on expansion of the internet, based on the
number of results for various Google searches in which I used the same
search terms once a year over a period of years.  I used the lesson again
recently and got much lower numbers for the results.  I wondered about it
but got busy with other things and didn't follow up.  Today I got an email
from Mary Buckley in Maine who also attempted my old lesson, also with much
lower results in the number of searches.

I went through Google's website trying to find an answer, or a contact
person to ask with no luck.  I did find a blog dated September 2007 where
others commented about Google no longer being objective and displaying
results differently than in the past (I'm not sure about the reliability of
this, considering that one poster seemed to think Google was provided for us
by the government--but obviously others are noticing a change).  I also
found a November 2006 story where Marissa Mayer, a VP at Google, said that
more results slowed down response time and "Half a second delay caused a 20%
drop in traffic. Half a second delay killed user satisfaction."  But there
seems to be confusion over exactly what she meant.

 <http://glinden.blogspot.com/2006/11/marissa-mayer-at-web-20.html>

I experimented with my preferences--no filter whatsoever, no limits, etc.
and had no change in the number of results.

Additionally, I found an article online from Netcraft dated May 2007
stating  "The Internet has added 12.8 million web sites thus far in 2007,
roughly on pace with growth in 2006, when the Web gained a record
30.9million sites."  So the internet is still rapidly growing but
Google's
search results are apparently shrinking.

 <
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2007/05/01/may_2007_web_server_survey.html
>

Does anybody know what gives?  Is Google limiting site results to keep
revenue up?  How are they choosing results if there is 'more internet' and
their result numbers are not as large?

-- 
Cheryl Youse, MLS
Media Specialist
Colquitt County High School
cyouse@gmail.com

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