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Web searchers these days are a sophisticated bunch. We expect more from our search results, and sometimes a list of links just doesn’t cut it. Plus, who wants to muddle around those results trying to find precisely what you’re looking for? Shouldn’t a search engine know what you want? That’s why search engines, including heavy hitters such as Google and Bing, are beginning to look for ways to get you the information you want more quickly.
The latest attempt to make search results more relevant is by peering into the meaning of your search query itself. This is called semantic search.
What is semantic search?
Semantics is the study of the meaning and relation of words together. When applied to search, it allows a search engine to return results to a query based on what it believes the searcher is intending to find. For example take a search for “Philadelphia.” While the standard search may return the city’s official website, its tourist bureau, and other information, a semantic search goes further.
These results are a little more abstract: for example the city’s location, its population, the climate, and other facts about the city. In some cases, search engines are already providing semantic results. A Google search for “population of Philadelphia” displays the result — 1,528,306 — along with a graph of historical population data. Searching for “xanax” brings up a short description of the drug aprazolam and its uses.
Search companies in essence are hoping that they can answer your question without ever leaving the site. This strategy may not be beneficial to those sites who depend on Google and others to drive traffic to their own sites, but it certainly means more page views for the search engines and more chances to sell advertising.
Who’s using semantic search?
Arguably the core concept of semantic search itself and the desire on the part of consumers for such functionality could be traced back to Ask Jeeves. When the search engine debuted in 1996, it brought with it a whole new way of searching the web. Instead trying to figure out the right search terms to use, users were told to phrase their searches in the form of a question. While it was not truly semantic search, this changed the way people interacted with search engines.
True semantic search did not appear on a larger scale until 2005 when Google introduced Q&A. From the search terms entered into the search box, Google attempted to anticipate what the user was looking for across a variety of subjects, such as celebrities, movies, and the elements. When Microsoft debuted Bing in 2009, the company leaned heavily on semantics to differentiate itself from competitors. The company argued that searchers are looking for more than just a list of links.
Wolfram Alpha takes Bing’s concept even further. Instead of combining traditional with semantic search as Google and Bing have done, Wolfram Alpha is completely semantic. Entering queries into the search box returns results from preexisting sets of data. Like Ask, you enter your query in the form of a question but Wolfram Alpha attempts to answer the question directly.
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