I'm SLOOOWLY Switching to MSN Search ..
 

It took me years to switch from Netscape to IE, and then to Firefox ... but with search engines i'm a little less loyal.

Lately, I can't help but notice that particularly for adult searches (i.e. looking for link trades from similar sites, sponsors, etc. etc.) I'm getting far more relevant results from MSN.

It seems Google is not only being spammed silly (not that they can't help it!), but they are "over analyzing" pages/sites for their SERPs. I search for a relatively popular term and literally a half-dozen relative pages/sites are turning up. I know that in their recent updates they've been dropping a lot of sites and cleaning things up but ...

On MSN, sure a lot of spammy crap in their SERPs but for my money, I'm getting more results that are relevant.

Example
Search for "tiny tits" (for link trades, sponsor ideas - not personal use!)

Google
Quality of sites (relevancy) seems to drop off sharply after the first page of results - and the top 10 are just okay, but not great. Didn't find more than about 5 or 6 good "landing page" resources (aka have actual content - something a surfer would likely be looking for).

MSN
I'm still browsing and clicking on results on the 5th page, and still seeing some highly relevant results. A lot of actual content here (not just link lists) and a good mix of sites, directories, blogs and yes, some keyword-spammed sites. Overall, I've found at least a dozen good "landing pages" and lots of pages with actual content

Blogs???
One thing to note is the near total absence of any blog sites in Google's SERPs compared to MSN's. Now as a site owner, obviously I'd prefer to rank well on Google for this term but I can find highly-targeted traffic (I won't go so far as to say "better") from the "tiny tit" blogs and related sites I find in MSN's results.

I'd think too that a surfer looking for content in this (or many other) niche would be much happier with the blogs, etc. he finds on MSN Search - and likely retain longer.

Conclusion
Again, I'm NOT saying MSN is a better SE - nor does it provide better traffic or more targeted. Google is still king, but, for work-related searches and finding good results I must say I'm using MSN more and more ...

Just my early, early Sat. morning musings ... feel free to agree or set me straight (but at least try with a few terms first and compare) :)

I've spoken with a few guys who are big in the SE's and they are saying the same/similar thing.

Yahoo is also getting a lot better

MSN is catching on and getting better. Just a matter of time I think, MSN just has too much money to throw at it and Google has gotten a tad arrogant. Too much throwing out the baby with the bathwater at Google lately with some of their filters.

Definetly.
Of course, as MSN grows in popularity more and more SEOs are going to try and manipulate it ... but until then, I believe they are going to continually gain ground on Google.

We all knew it was gonna happen sooner or later. Why it took so long is the question.

MS is a scary company... the amount of money they can throw at shit is sick
google def got competition here
i sometimes catch myself using msn also
a little shocking

The biggest thing working against Microsoft is the poor PR they have in the online community (that is, public relations not page rank!). No one really wants to admit the like anything by Microsoft, but when it comes to my business I put personal feelings and biases on the shelf ... MSN Search is working much better for me now so I'm going with it

Once it it fully integrated with their new OS the random surfer will use it. This has been proven time and time again with MS internet technologies. I dont think my mom or grandma really keep up with the online community - or partisan bickering, they simply search for recipies in whichever box says "search" and go from there.

I wouldnt count MS out of this race one bit.

This is so very true.

I thought I was the only one to use MSN search on a personal level, refreshing to see that I am not the only one. Google better watch theirs backs.

microsoft is working on behavioral search results which should be even better for advertisers. if they work out a deal with yahoo msn search could be the hot ticket

I have some really great terms for which I come up #1 on MSN Search. I love it.

One of the sad things about the SE in general, is that it is soooo hard to find anything BUT porn.

Search Gothic, and all you find is porn, yet it is a part of history.

Microsoft is going to intergrade their operating systems with their search engine

http://ideas.live.com/

I imagine when this happens you'll see alot of people switching to MSN

Alot of times using google I have to click "cache" page just to highlight what I'm looking for.

Usually it's a brief mention and the overall page has really nothing to do with what I'm looking for.

Google never use to be like that. They changed some shit they shouldn't have changed

much easier to rank high in the serps with MSN.

Yahoo bans to many big sites.

What google likes yahoo will ban you for

In my everyday experience, MSN and Yahoo both have a loooooooong way to go before their searches are as relevant as Google's. Take "big breast" and "big breasts": I get number 2 on Google for both those phrases, but pretty much nothing on the others; also, they list many sites which clearly aren't as relevant or are simply spamming the search engines with repeat terms.

... Also, from a usability perspective, I find Google's results are easier to read.

I like the msn results for "big breasts" better.

Google has the same sites come up for every other term.

Why don't you check the results for "big breasts" in MSN more carefully:
e.g.
www.big-breast-lovers.net - doorway page to an affiliate site

www.tastybreasts.com: spamming the search engine: look for the repeated kewwords at the bottom:
Big Breasts #01 || Big Breasts #02 || Big Breasts #03 || Big Breasts #04 || Big Breasts #05 || Big Breasts #06 || Big Breasts #07
Big Breasts #08 || Big Breasts #09 || Big Breasts #10 || Big Breasts #11 || Big Breasts #12 || Big Breasts #13 || Big Breasts #14
Big Breasts #15 || Big Breasts #16 || Big Breasts #17 || Big Breasts #18 || Big Breasts #19 || Big Breasts #20 || Big Breasts #21
Big Breasts #22 || Big Breasts #23 || Big Breasts #24 || Big Breasts #25 || Big Breasts #26 || Big Breasts #27 || Big Breasts #28
Big Breasts #29 || Big Breasts #30

Just shows how far MSN has got to go

And both those domains have big breasts content.

So some of the sites in MSN rank high through aggressive keyword density

Google sites rank high through aggressive recip links.

Both are tactics to rank higher in my opinion

I'll sell you any term on msn you think you can make money off.

Any.

The reason the results look better is simple..its not worth it to us seo guys to spam msn, i have first page listings for xxx. porn, cocks, big cocks, blowjobs, milf, milfs.....all on msn..all useless.

All fuckin useless.

What good is a search engine with no traffic.

Google wins hands down on making money with the results.

But that isn't what this thread is about.

google seems to be intentionally sabotaging its own results so more people click on the adwords ads .. This will be their downfall..

I think they just ignored the old saying

'If it isn't broke don't fix it"

They tweak things here and there trying to improve it but they end up making it worse

Smokey, how do you do that with your sig? That thing with my name? :1orglaugh

I just noticed that - thats cool

Right but the next statement i made was what this threads about, its exactly why msn serps are diferant, they arent worth spamming right now.

Obviously you are biased because of your success with google :winkwink:

But I think you'll find that if you do comparitive searches for many terms on MSN and Google, and put yourself in the mind of someone actually looking for content /relevancy - not just links - you'll like what MSN shows.

Of course the results are from artificially inflated sites but it seems that the ones ranking well are for the most part deserving based on what's on the actual page/site.