Who won the Kentucky Derby?
After the huge upset at yesterday’s Kentucky Derby I decided to check in on the major search engines to see how well each one handles the question “who won the Kentucky derby.” My list of search engines included Google, Yahoo, MSN/Live, and Ask.com. All of these searches were performed the morning of May 3rd, 2009. I wanted to point out the date of this test as we all know that the search engines are constantly evolving.
Google.com
I must admit that (Update: I’m a little surprised at the lack of a ‘one box’) I’m a little surprised at how poorly Google performed for this particular search. By combining relevancy of time into the algorithm I would have expected to see results dated 2009 listed higher than all others, or at least some sort of a call-out at the very top of the page indicating the winning horse. As you can see, the first mention of the winning horse in the 2009 Kentucky Derby was in position #5 if you included the news results into the mix.
Google results - May 3, 2009
Yahoo.com
Yahoo.com did a very poor job of providing me with an immediate answer. Not a single listing on page 1 gives me the information I’m searching for. If you want to know who won the 2008 Kentucky Derby you came to the right place. But for 2009 the answer is nowhere on page 1. Again, just like Google time in the algorithm seems to be elusive.
Yahoo results - May 3, 2009
Live Search
Live.com the search engine from Microsoft does an excellent job of answering my question “who won the Kentucky derby.” As you can see in the image below they provided me with timely and relevant information. Now there is a search algorithm performing as it should.
Live results - May 3, 2009
Ask.com
At this point I must admit that I’m a NASCAR fan. As a NASCAR fan in 2009 I’m being exposed by the marketing efforts of Ask.com. Ask.com is now the official search engine of NASCAR. Almost every commercial from Ask.com is asking you see to type a question into the search engine and they will present you with a relevant answer. So did Ask.com pull through with an upset against the giant search engines of Google and Yahoo? You bet they did! Have a look at the image below.
Ask results - May 3, 2009
The Winner
Mine that bird! Oh wait… I’m here to pick the best search engine for the search phrase ‘who won the Kentucky derby.’
The winner is Live Search from Microsoft by a nose. Ask.com was definitely #2. Not only did Live Search present me with the most recent winner of the Kentucky Derby, but the additional info presented alongside the results were spot on.
Just like Mine that bird had 50/1 odds, those with the most money don’t always win!
The Winner!