The reality is that current search-engine technology is not going to get much better. The science of information retrieval has been around for a long time, and the best we're probably ever going to get is 20 to 40 percent of what's available on any particular topic we type into a search-engine window. In essence, the search engine of the future will be handmade and precision-engineered to our specific wishes. But before we look too far ahead, let's look at today. At first glance, it seems disappointing that we only find 20 to 40 percent of the information available on any given topic.
Most people find something useful in the first few links offered, and then go merrily on their way.
It's all a matter of language and context, according to Rosenburg. Writers are targeted to use different phrases and different words. So people who create Web pages may use different words to describe the same thing, or use the same word, and have completely different meanings in mind. When you type a phrase into a search engine, it has no idea of the context of your search - it just knows that you want to find out something about, say, cars. Another useful trick is to use metacrawlers - sites that allow you to search several search engines at the same time.