Better results than google

One of the hottest new areas in the Web-search methods by which the results based on the preferences of the user can be improved. It is sufficient to Google in, tried the search engine to personalize the results by clicking on previous queries back accessed. One student, who is looking after Seelebewesen, then receives, for example, to search for "Dolphins" less the same results for the U.S. football team and more about the marine mammals.
Surf Canyon, a start-up from the Oakland, California, is trying now to personalize the issue further. Its software, which is as an add-on for Firefox and Internet Explorer can be downloaded, completed, results of search engines, links clicked by the evaluated. Immediately afterwards appear improved results, including three bids, the most clicked on pages one way or another fit. "We have invented the real-time personalization," says CEO Mark Cramer.
If we look, for example, Google for "thermo-electric heat sinks", showing Firefox with Surf Canyon ten standard results. If you now click on one of the results, in this case, the chip manufacturer Freescale, will be transmitted to Surf Canyon. A click on the Back button then change the old results list: Three new proposals to land directly under the Freescale results. Surf Canyon has these links from the former Shown 100 result pages to extract. The tool is determined which of these fit Freescale.com information, including technical information, such as a thermoelectric cooler works.
The new results will be in the original integrated results that the page is not drastically different from the original. The users would otherwise verschrecken, Cramer believes, moreover old results are not likely to disappear because of the users so they may still want to click.Therefore, the recommendations appear only below the clicked link. "We do not want to annoy the users. Surf Canyon is specifically designed so inconspicuous as possible."
Behind the scenes is an algorithm for the personalization. Here are the results analyzed, which has been clicked or ignored, but also how much time the user spent on a search result.The algorithm also try the importance of a page to semantically analyze, says Cramer. The results build on: After a few clicks Surf Canyon can already decide whether, for example, for a Canon camera, a SLR camera or a digital SLR camera from Canon is interested.
Marti Hears, a professor at the School of Information University of California, Berkeley, praised Surf Canyon for its presentation of the additional links - which is clear, useful and unobtrusive. So the user does not need such as Google's "SearchWiki" themselves up, to sort search results.
In an attempt was Hearst, however, revealed that the newly designed results are not always worked. "The personalization works especially well with ambiguous questions," she says.Today, however, users tended to be longer entries, which provides advice contained what was sought. In one test could Surf Canyon, according to Hearst also an acronym only to a certain point back - they got different results, although they are already with their first clicks had made clear what they wanted.
Cramer and his team, however, speak almost only positive feedback. In a study with two groups, the standard results and those displayed by Surf Canyon got clicked, participants 30 to 40 percent more often by the algorithm adjusted results.