Does this figure, or what: Microsoft has barely unwrapped its new search engine when Google reminds it (and everyone) just who the kings of the Internet search sphere are, doubling its processed index page volume from four billion to eight billion and beyond.
And that came hand in hand with Google launching its new POP support for GMail users.
The searchable pages amplifies Google's belief that relevancy counts, according to vice president for engineering Bill Coughran. "Comprehensiveness is not the only important factor in evaluating a search engine," he said, when Google announced the index page processing increase, "but it's invaluable for queries that only return a few results."
He also said eight billion pages is a milestone, not the end of the highway. "The real test," he said, "is how well we do in finding what you want from within those pages."
"It's fair to say that it isn't sufficient for Google to rely on the same algorithm," Meta Group analyst Tim Hickernell told NewsFactor. "There's always an ongoing battle to keep relevancy high. It does not matter how many pages an engine processes if does not deliver relevant results."
But there's one little codicil: Even as popular as Google is, it doesn't mean there's much to put in the way of brand loyalty regarding search engines just yet, Hickernell. "I'm not sure that people won't flock to the next Google when it comes along," he said.
