Domain bias in web search

Abstract

This paper uncovers a new phenomenon in web search that we call domain bias -a user's propensity to believe that a page is more relevant just because it comes from a particular domain. We provide evidence of the existence of domain bias in click activity as well as in human judgments via a comprehensive collection of experiments. We begin by studying the difference between domains that a search engine surfaces and that users click. Surprisingly, we find that despite changes in the overall distribution of surfaced domains, there has not been a comparable shift in the distribution of clicked domains. Users seem to have learned the landscape of the internet and their click behavior has thus become more predictable over time. Next, we run a blind domain test, akin to a Pepsi/Coke taste test, to determine whether domains can shift a user's opinion of which page is more relevant. We find that domains can actually flip a user's preference about 25% of the time. Finally, we demonstrate the existence of systematic domain preferences, even after factoring out confounding issues such as position bias and relevance, two factors that have been used extensively in past work to explain user behavior. The existence of domain bias has numerous consequences including, for example, the importance of discounting click activity from reputable domains.

Implementation Techniques of Search Engine Optimization in Marketing Strategies Through the Internet

“…Microsoft and the University of Stanford in his research Domain Bias in Web Search, proving that the selection of an appropriate domain will increase the user's search by 25 (Ieong et al, 2012). Similarly, research conducted by SEDO (2011).…”

Using Contextual Information to Understand Searching and Browsing Behavior

“…User clicks are reasonably accurate on average to evaluate user satisfaction with pairs Q, SERP [11,125], using click-through information. This user satisfaction scenario is successfully 3. to the domain of the returned U RL [112].…”

“…to the page position in the SERP [56,124]; 2. to the quality of the page's snippet [250]; and 3. to the domain of the returned URLs [112].…”

Penerapan Teknik Seo (Search Engine Optimization) pada Website dalam Strategi Pemasaran melalui Internet

“…Pada prinsipnya, setiap nama domain yang paling mendekati dengan keyword pencarian maka nama tersebut yang akan ditampilkan oleh Search Engine di posisi atas. (2012), membuktikan bahwa pemilihan domain yang tepat akan meningkatkan pencarian pengguna sebanyak 25% (Ieong, Mishra, Sadikov, & Li, 2012). Demikian juga riset yang dilakukan SEDO 2011, mengatakan dekripsi domain bisa dijadikan brand new.…”