Business | Technology
Too many searches, not enough results
This week Microsoft will be launching a new search engine called Kumo. Microsoft hopes to use the new site to compete with Google, as well as, I assume, Yahoo, Cuil, Wolfram Alpha and all the others out there.
- By Scott Shuey, Chief Reporter
- Published: 23:39 May 22, 2009
This week Microsoft will be launching a new search engine called Kumo. Microsoft hopes to use the new site to compete with Google, as well as, I assume, Yahoo, Cuil, Wolfram Alpha and all the others out there.
With all the search engines out there these days you'd think we'd be able to find just about anything online, but despite that I still have a hard time finding local businesses here in Dubai.
Let me give you an example. I needed to get a new keyboard this week, and I wanted to find a shop near me that carried a specific brand. I went to Google and typed in "computer stores in Dubai". Not a single computer store appeared on the list.
I know this is silly. I can give you a list of about ten computer shops in Dubai from memory, so why can't Google? or Yahoo? or Live? Most, if not all, of the computer stores in Dubai have webpages, but not a single search engine was able to actually point me to one. I dug down ten pages into the Google results and wasn't able to find a single link.
Instead there are lists and lists of "indexes" and local pages from expats that attempt to do what the search engines should. These homegrown lists are often less then helpful. Frequently, stores are left off the list, and the ones that are there, have no addresses or maps and phone numbers - if they are there - are often wrong or out of date.
This doesn't just happen in Dubai. Type in the name of any major western city (and many minor ones!) and "computer stores" into Google and you will get a list of businesses, which includes phone numbers, web links and a map showing you where these shops are.
But like the Orient Express, you seem to leave the west when you reach Budapest. Go east from there and you find nothing but worthless search results - that is until you reach Karachi. Search for business east of Karachi and you begin to get helpful search results again. I spent a couple hours looking for computer stores in Russia, Poland, Turkey, Egypt and the Middle East just to see what search results the top sites will give me. This doesn't just apply to computer stores either but just about any industry, including restaurants.
Normally, I would try to blame someone for this, but in this case everyone seems to be responsible. Google has stated many times that it isn't in the business of creating content, but when I can find a listing for ten computer stores in my hometown of Fremont, California, a city of only 200,000 people, and none in Dubai, I have to believe something in Google's search results has been neglected.
But local companies also have some blame coming their way. There is a whole industry out there designed to optimise search results. Small businesses that I've worked with in the US have figured this out and now find themselves listed high in Google's search results, so why can't businesses here in Dubai do the same thing? There are only two reasons: ignorance or apathy about the web. It's time for the Dubai-based businesses to start taking a serious look at how they market their websites.
Just having one isn't enough, and it won't matter how many search engines there are on the Web if none of them can find you.
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