Google Blog Search is live

Google blog search

Google Blog Search is now live. I spent some time clicking around and searching for terms and phrases where I expected a certain result. Some early thoughts:

  • Query time is very fast, at around half a second for most queries. The database only goes back two months, so a quick response is to be expected.
  • The related blogs search for “George Bush” suggests “George Bush doesn’t care about ugly hoes” which cracks me up.
  • No advertisements. Is this another “mistake” like Google claimed for Google News? I don’t think so.
  • Google exposes results as RSS and Atom feeds in two default flavors.

I think the relevance algorithm in Google Blog Search opens up a new testing ground for search engine marketers. While Google has been rumored to have a six month sandbox for new sites or domains, they cannot afford to be biased against newer blogs, especially with an index going back to June. Search engine marketers now have a way to create new sites and test their performance in Google Blog Search before they make it to the “big game” in Google’s main search results.

Google’s entry into the space will definitely increase the exposure of the entire industry. Many more people have heard of Froogle but have not heard of Shopping.com, NexTag, Shopzilla, or PriceGrabber. When Google introduces a product the world takes notice, even if the product stays at #10 for a few years as is the case with Froogle. In the shopping comparison industry everyone continued to have a nice business even after big search companies entered. Only time will tell how Google performs and evolves. They may never remove the beta designation, but that would just be typical Google.