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Amazon to Take on Google?

Posted by michael on from the one-click-searching dept.

KRck writes "Looks like Amazon is going to jump into the search engine business and try and compete directly with Google, by building a new company A9 which they hope to launch in October."

4 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. Thank goodness! by RobertB-DC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    From the article:
    Unlike Google, A9 isn't trying to develop an all-purpose search engine that indexes billions of Web pages. The startup instead is zeroing on a one of search engines' sweet spots -- e-commerce.

    "Sweet spot" for advertisers... "Crap that clutters my search" to me. Google has done a pretty good job of keeping the e-commerce sites out of my listings, and as a result, I really do click on the sponsored links when they're relevant. But they've been slipping... a search on Electric Fencing returns mostly people selling the product, but adding keywords (Electric Fencing Installation) helps.

    More articley goodness:
    As more consumers have become comfortable with the Internet, a growing number are using search engines to review products and compare prices.

    Review != Purchase. When I look up a product, I'm usually looking for complaints. Before I signed up for Netflix, I examined the complaints and decided I could live with the reported problems. I decided against GreenCine in part because subscribers report low supplies despite an excellent selection. You get the idea.

    Hopefully, if Amazon focuses on the e-commerce angle, Google can focus on the information angle. I'll go to Google to find out how to install an electric fence, and perhaps I'll go to Amazon to find an electric fence supplier. But more likely, I'll click on a Google AdWords partner.

    Google's biggest problem right now: Crapflooding, which will continue to be a whack-a-mole problem on any search site. When I do a search on Toothpick Bridge for my daughter's science class and see a URL of "www.hdlac.org/mom-daughter-incest.htm", I know that the spammer/scammer community has scored again.

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    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  2. Why it won't work: by grasshoppa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do we really trust an amazon sponsored search engine when looking for "books on computers"? Do we really believe that they will give us unskewed results?

    This is the core of the matter, and why google is so successful. We believe that they are unbiased, and therefore trust their results.

    Incidently, this is why msn search will fail as well.

    All hail the king of searches: Google.

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    Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
  3. Well, are you, punk? by Quill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's a good thing Google already has a "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. A9 would surely patent One-Click Searching.

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    My religion forbids the use of sigs.
  4. Remember when... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    yahoo, excite and hotbot were called search engines?
    And Amazon sold books, and did it well?

    Then somebody said "Portals" and they became "portals".
    Then somebody said "Auction" and they all followed e-bay.
    Then somebody said "e-commerce" and they all started selling everything.

    And books became Amazon's sideline to their patents on everything but the color of money.
    And their site became a Navigational Nightmare(TM) (patent pending).

    Now everybody wants to be a search engine again.

    The reason Google is succesful is because it does it gives people the information they want, and stays the hell out of their way.