Google exec admits search secrecy
A senior Google executive has admitted the company keeps its search algorithm secret.
Udi Manber, vice-president of engineering within the firm’s Search Quality department, said many people know "surprisingly little" about how it ranks its content.
Mr Manber explained the firm is preparing to handle future, more complex search requests, while dealing with unethical attempts to control its results.
"One of the key things about search is that users’ expectations grow rapidly. Tomorrow’s queries will be much harder than today’s queries," he added.
He suggested the firm’s reluctance to reveal its methods protected users from competitors who could abuse the system to achieve high rankings.
Analyst comScore’s European search ranking revealed Google is still dominating the sector.
"With nearly 80 per cent of all searches conducted in March, Google is far and away the leading search property in Europe," said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president.
