Don't Let Google Tell You How to People Search

Last week, I was searching online for an item that I have always wanted, an authentic Japanese baseball hat. I began my search in the same manner that millions do each day as I typed into a search box and then hit the Google search button. My search yielded 1.5 million results, so of course, I began my purchasing journey with the companies on the first result page. After spending about twenty minutes viewing outrageous hat prices from Japanese companies, I decided to try something completely insane in the world of internet searching: I ventured off the first page to find the item I wanted.

Now I know this seems like a completely ludicrous thing to do, but I was feeling like taking a chance. I choose results page #7, in tribute to New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, and began to shop the hat vendors on that page. Much to my surprise, I found not one, but two great Japanese baseball hats for only $15 a piece! As a result of my efforts, I am now the proud owner of a Fukuoka Daiei Hawks hat and a Yokohama Bay Stars hat. Life couldn't be better.

After basking in the glow of my victory over traditional internet searching, I began to realize the extremely significant impact that Google search results play on one's purchases. Consumers trust websites that show up in the first page of search results because Google tells us that these websites are the closest matches to what we are looking for. Thus, because Google (the world's most popular search engine) says it, we must believe. However, let's not forget that search results are based on weird search engine factors like keyword density, domain age and link strength. Factors that are considered important by consumers when making a purchase, such as customer satisfaction, product selection and price, are not considered a priority by Google and most other search engines. Sadly, consumers are often left with poor choices on the top of the list of search results.