I used to be an enthusiastic gargler of Google's balls but they enshittified just like everything else.
Google has gotten really bad with the sponsored links. Not only are they only identified with a small "ad sponsored" disclaimer that is easy to miss on a phone screen but I've run into sponsored results that are blatant scams that I've had to report to google. Seemingly no effort on their part to screen these before they let them get posted.
I've also had to resort to altering my search engine results to always filter out quora and pinterest because they have gamed SEO so badly that they choke my results with garbage. Both demand you open accounts to see much (nope) and quora is a cesspool of bad answers and trolls.
Looking for product reviews is a real struggle. I'll see the same review plastered across a bunch of sketchy websites at the top of my results. They look like they only exist for manufacturers to post paid reviews.
Google Maps as well. Very inaccurate at times.
Google Maps is always dead on for me. I regularly drive very long distances across the US. The time estimates are within minutes of accurate even when there are sudden or extreme backups like in Los Angeles. There's plenty to criticize Google for, but it isn't Google maps for me.
Not related to the article, totally anecdotal, and n=1, but it seems Google Maps has really dropped the ball as well.
I switched to using startpage.com recently based on a comment I read on Lemmy and I've been generally pretty pleased with the results. Just one more google service I can stop relying on.
Startpage is owned by an ad company. Always been a bit sketched out by that.
I’ve been using brave search since their early days. They used to suck, but I pushed my feelings aside and just kept trying. Now, brave out performs google on a lot of search results. Sometimes, you have to add a bit more context to your query, but it is worth staying private and not dealing with all the SEO garbage. If the results don’t fit your need, just leave feedback and it will probably be addressed soon.
You were downvoted - presumably by people that don't like some of the things Brave does but surely they don't think Google isnt far, far worse.
Personally, I use Kagi, but still.
On a semi-related note, I used to know a friend that worked at a small tech company (won't say whom, since the company's still around and they still work there) that, if memory serves, worked directly with Google to provide clients higher search results for their services/webpages. While I know this isn't the exact cause of the enshittification, it certainly helps.
Take this with a grain of salt though, I don't remember exactly what they said, and that was quite some years ago.
"Worked directly with Google" yeah, I don't think they did. Google doesn't need partners for adwords or SEO. They're really the only game in town, and SEO companies are notorious for misrepresenting themselves as "subsidiaries of Google" in order to make sales.
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Ecosia! I did try Kagi, and honestly did not understand the appeal.
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