Internet Overload Forcing Surfers to Seek New Means of "Googling"

Online, October 1, 2010 (Newswire.com) - If you've spent any amount of time surfing the web you are aware of the increasing need to specify searches in order to find just what you are looking for. If you don't spend a lot of time on the internet, or if you are simply curious what has caused this phenomenon, try entering any single word into a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Chances are there will be several hundred thousand "hits".

Well more information is not always better, especially if you are in a hurry. If for instance you are looking for a Chinese restaurant, and you happen to be in Vegas, the first few results will not necessarily be the best Chinese restaurants, in fact my favorite Chinese restaurant does not even show up in a search until the fifth or sixth page. If I don't enter the exact name of the restaurant I am looking for I need to wade through several blogs, history lessons, and other Chinese restaurant related articles (that will in no way help me fill my stomach) before finding what I was looking for. And it is basically the same no matter what type of restaurant you're craving, or anything else you may be searching for that matter.

It's not because search engines are dumb. Actually they are quite genius, but the way a search engine decides what shows up on a page and where has nothing to do with what you specifically may or may not be looking for. It has to do with a complex algorithm which takes into account keywords, age of the site, updates, and other boring goodies we won't be delving into here.

And almost every site is constantly trying to improve their "page ranking". Millions of articles, hundreds of thousands of blogs, and who knows how many "forums" are created every single day in the hopes of getting so-and-so's page one or two spots higher on the almighty search priority list. Can you blame them? If you're in a hurry, and you're looking for a Chinese restaurant, maybe you'll just go to the first one listed.

There is hope though for those of us with more discerning tastes but who are a bit too lazy to wade through an entire six pages of content for the restaurant we want. More and more people are looking for "hubs" or pages that only show results within a specific genre. These pages can be a life saver, if you're in a hurry, want something specific, or new to an area they can really save a lot of time. Not all of these hub pages are equal though. A popular phonebook for example has created what they had hoped to be kind of an online phonebook, but you're better off just using one of the popular search engines to be honest.

There are some good examples though. For instance back to restaurants, you have a couple of "guide" options, most though are for local businesses and not restaurants specifically. If you want to find an excellent restaurant guide try CarryOutDirectory.com. This is the type of hub we will be seeing a lot more of most likely if this search engine overload continues.

Using my example of a Chinese restaurant in Las Vegas, CarryOut Directory offers a very fast and easy method of finding nearly every Chinese restaurant in my area. They breakdown all these restaurants within their guide by State, City, Area Code, etc - no blogs or wiki articles or forums show up in my search, awesome.

In addition to simplifying searches, these hubs can offer much more than a simple search. I can find my Chinese restaurant, get exact directions, a map of the area, view their menu, and even find out what other people have to say about it. I agree by the way, everyone else thinks this is the top Chinese restaurant in the area. That's something you or I would not have found on Google.

And these hubs have far more to offer. CarryOut Directory for example decided to include coupons, and even gives me the option of ordering food from the restaurants who deliver. And they integrated these options in such a way that does not at all slow down or clutter the search, which is why I visited this site to find my restaurant to start with.

My guess is we're going to be seeing a lot more of these hubs in the future. And hopefully they follow the simple and functional example of CarryOut Directory.