Domain Name Search Hijacking by Google
Clearly, Google is aware that this is a domain name search. Note the "results from websites with similar addresses" and "try another domain name" suggestions. Could you imagine your reaction if you walked into a library, asked a librarian for a specific book by name and the librarian came back with other books she recommended saying, "Oh, yes, we do have that book but it's a work in progress. I've retrieved for you these other books I think are more relevant." Next time, wouldn't you just go to the shelf yourself? Or, what if you hopped in a taxi and gave the driver your destination address and they refused to drive you to the specified address and instead dropped you off somewhere else they thought was a nicer location. Would you ever use that taxi company again?
Blocking domain names from the Google search index is nothing new. I haven't noticed this domain name search hijacking before, though. It seems a bit arrogant on Google's part to block a domain itself, simply because it is parked or under construction. Keep in mind that Google runs AdSense for Domains. They profit from parked domain revenues. Why hijack domain name searches? Isn't this akin to domain hijacking or browser hijacking? I can see not listing parked domains in standard search results due to a lack of original content, but shouldn't Google display results for any domain on what's clearly a domain name search? They are a domain registrar, after all, and appear to be using whois registrar data.
With the inception of universal search, they could insert domain name specific search results above their standard search results. For example, much like they rely on Wikipedia for many of their search results, they could display whois lookup results for a given domain name from a reliable source (like whois.domaintools.com). Also, since they display malware information (more here) about a site, they could include the domain itself in the search results with a "parked domain" or "under construction" label. I think it'd be better for the end user to display the domain (even with some kind of a warning label) rather than hiding the searched domain and suggesting other domains. Seems very contrary to Google's stated policy of "providing the best user experience possible" or their "mission to organize the world's information."
Maybe the web needs a new librarian? Or, if you like the taxi analogy better, if policies like domain name search hijacking erode confidence in Google, perhaps their fleet of shiny taxis will become, well, parked. ;-)
Tags (made w/ TagBuildr): domain name search, domain registrar, browser hijacking, whois lookup, domaintools, direct navigation, malware, google, universal search