Search is far from done…

We've posted about 15 videos to YouTube over the last 3 weeks, but there seems to be a 5 day gap before they're integrated into the web search page, even though they show up in the video search page. I don't know if it's the algorithm, throttling, or just a backlog. I imagine universal search takes some doing to implement, which Microsoft and Yahoo would have to take on too in order to compete.

Yes, and there's still a space in the market for better search results in general. Consumers are growing tired of search results that are irrelevant and ad revenue driven. I don't know how a newcomer could create a market space this late in the game, but there's still a demand for better search results.

Google might have a threshold on videos before they make it into universal search. For instance, they may require X # of views or a certain user rating in order to "promote" the video into universal search.

Yes, I wish there was a better way to get search packaged. There are times when I'm looking for information on a subject and wish I could do a "non-product ad" oriented search. There are other times that I am looking for products and want to see relevant product ads. I remember back in the day when google gave you good results. I think I remember, that was a long time ago. Unfortunately I haven't found anything better.

Why didn't you just add the term "videos" to your search? I mean, are you honestly comparing the returns from a search of a video site to a search of everything?

I hope there's a way to turn this "universal search" feature off. It's one thing for the normal search engine to get YouTube results by normal web-crawling (Google, MSN/Live, and Yahoo search already to get YouTube results by doing that). It's quite another for Google to force-feed all YouTube search-engine results into the normal Google search.

I, for one, don't want to wade 17,600 YouTube video search results when doing a search for "Pizza", for example. (Doing a search for "pizza" at YouTube results in 17,600 results.)

This idea is very stupid, IMO. If I want YouTube videos, I go to YouTube. I don't want thousands of mostly terrible videos (i.e. the ones that aren't captures of professional copyrighted works), mucking with normal websearch results.

My impression has been that they are very careful about what searches they include videos on and which ones they don't. I would be very surprised if most searches started having semi-related videos included.

I expect the goal is really to figure out when people want them and when they don't and with the amount of traffic that Google get it will be fairly easy for them to see in what cases people click on the videos and when they don't and adjust what subsequent users see accordingly.

With something like ruby on rails I don't think it makes a lot of sense to show videos, as people aren't that likely to be looking for videos (even though the available screen casts etc. are great). If someone is searching for "Pirates of the Caribbean" however it makes a lot more sense to show the newest trailer as that's what it's all about, to name just one example (it doesn't do that at the moment either though).

Am pretty sure the whole universal search thing will change quite a bit in the coming months and am looking forward to seeing what it becomes.

None of us know how audio and video fit into PageRank TM. Is it downloads or the web page that they are on that effect their PageRank?

Until then how can you say that not having a video result for ROR on the first page is not fair???

Maybe no videos made it via the ranking calculation.
http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html
"Google employs a number of techniques to improve search quality including page rank, anchor text, and proximity information."

http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/over.gif

As seen all links go through the PageRank phase as the final phase before output to the browser. Where they are either gotten from the barrels or from the cache.

To know why ROR isn't on the 1rst page we would have to understand how PR works for A&V, either for hits, or for the page they are on?
Since YouTube is owned by Google, do videos get extra points or is it impartial?
All questions that must be answered first.

Its all about the rank! MSN and Yahoo havent been able to deliver the best sites on search queries.. until that happens whatever else they do would'nt be enough...