Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the World category?
- How do I get to the top level of the directory?
- When would I use the Google directory instead of Google's regular web search?
- How are the web pages in a category ordered?
- What do the horizontal green bars mean?
- What is the difference between "Search only in 'Category'" and "Search the Web"?
- What are 'Related Categories'?
- Why are some category names in boldface?
- How many web pages are in the directory?
- What is the Open Directory Project?
- How can I submit a web page to the Google directory?
| About Google's Web Directory |
The Google Web Directory integrates Google's sophisticated search technology with Open Directory pages to create the most useful tool for finding information on the web. Key improvements include the following:
- Importance ranking. The Google Web Directory starts with
a collection of websites selected by Open Directory volunteer editors.
Google then applies its patented PageRank technology to rank the sites
based on their importance. Horizontal bars, which are displayed next
to each web page, indicate the importance of the page, as determined
by PageRank. This distinctive approach to ranking web sites enables
the highest quality pages to appear first as top results for any Google
directory category.
- Smarter search within directory categories. Google uses the
advanced technology that powers its regular web search to learn more
about each page listed in its directory. This capability enables users
to search deeper within categories and produces more relevant results
than any other directory search.
- Web search integration. Google's innovative classification
technique connects regular Google search results with information
in the Google Web Directory. This technology gives users one-click
access from regular Google search results to the most relevant hand-selected
web pages in the Google directory.
- Clean, uncluttered user interface. The Google Web Directory uses the same no-nonsense, user-friendly interface design that distinguishes the google.com site from other search engine sites.
| Frequently Asked Questions |
-
The World category includes directory content for languages other than
English. For example, in World/Nederlands all the content is in Dutch
and the directory descriptions are written in Dutch. The pages in this
section of the directory are usually not translations of English language
pages, but a whole section of the Internet exclusively in that language.
How do I get to the top level of the directory?
-
In the English language areas of the directory, click on "Go to Directory
Home" above the blue bar on the right-hand side of the page. Within
the World category, click on "Directory Home (English)" to leave the
World section and return to the Directory's top level.
When would I use the Google directory instead of Google's regular web search?
-
The good news is that you don't need to choose between the two. Google's
regular web search results are enhanced by information from the Google
directory. Look for the addition of editorial descriptions and links
to Google directory categories in some search returns. These additions
mean that Google has found relevant information about that particular
page in the directory and is bringing it to you. Click on the link to
find similar pages in the same category or to find other categories
like the one for your result.
While Google's regular web search is likely the fastest way to find information on a specific subject, the Google directory is particularly useful when you're not sure how to narrow your search from a broad category. The directory can help you understand how topics within a specific area are related and may suggest terms that are useful in conducting a search. It can also give you an idea of the scope of a given category, such as the number of newspapers in California.
Google's directory engine also lets you search within a category once you've decided on the specific subsection of the web that interests you. In this way, you'll get only responses that fall within that category. For example, you may want to search for teams named "Cougars" within the college basketball section of the directory only, instead of across the entire web.
Finally, you might prefer to use the directory when you only want to see sites that have been evaluated by an editor. The Open Directory project has 20,000 volunteer editors reviewing websites and classifying them by topic. Google's search technology lets you arrange those sites by their importance instead of alphabetically, which means you'll get the benefit of both human judgment and a sophisticated ranking algorithm.
Unlike other directories that can only list web pages alphabetically regardless of how good they are, the web pages in the Google directory are ordered according to Google's patented PageRank™ technology. This means that the most relevant and highly-regarded sites on any topic are listed first ... not buried deep within a list of other pages. You can read more about PageRank and how it works by clicking here.
What do the horizontal green bars mean?
The green ratings bars are a measure of the importance of a web page, as determined by Google's patented PageRank technology. These PageRank bars tell you at a glance whether other people on the web consider a page to be a high-quality site worth checking out. Google itself does not evaluate or endorse websites. Rather, we measure what others on the web feel is important enough to deserve a link. And because Google does not accept payment for placement within our results, the information you see when you conduct a search is based on totally objective criteria.
Category Search vs. Web Search
When you enter a search in the Google directory engine, only the category you are currently in will be searched. This can be particularly useful in restricting your search to a particular topic or domain.
For example, a search over the entire web for 'lions' might return pages about lions (the animal), Lions (the football team), Lions (the public service organization), or any number of other subjects. By searching for "Lions" within the category "Sports > Football, American > Professional >", you will see only results related to the Detroit Lions football team.
What are 'Related Categories'?
Related categories contain web pages that are similar to the ones in the category you are looking at, but in a different part of the directory. For example, "Reference > Books" shows up as a related link to the category "Business > Industries > Publishing" because books and publishing are related. "Books" has been put in the "Reference" category and "Publishing" has been put in the "Business" section of the directory, but you can move from one area to the other by clicking on the Related Categories link.
Why are some category names in boldface?
The largest subcategories on each page are listed in bold letters, helping you to find the most popular categories in the directory more quickly.
The Google directory contains over 1.5 million URLs.
What is the Open Directory Project?
The Open Directory Project is a large public directory managed by Netscape. The ODP is maintained by a group of volunteer editors from around the world who evaluate sites for inclusion in the directory. The web pages selected by these editors are organized into a number of broad categories under which are many more specific subcategories. Google uses this hierarchy as the basis for its directory.
How can I submit a web page to the Google Directory?
The web pages in the Google directory have been selected by thousands of volunteer editors from the Netscape Open Directory Project. If you would like to submit a web page to be included in future versions of the directory, you may submit the web page directly to the Open Directory by following the instructions here.
