Not the main point, but why would google.com search list google.com in the results for "Search engine"? You're at google already, so it isn't really a helpful result.
<i>"In January, I was invited to speak to Google’s search quality team about issues I had with Google’s search results. My topic? For queries where I know a subject really well, I often found Google provided some pretty poor results in the top listings along with the good ones. I wanted more perfection!"</i><p>Oddly enough, I like it that Google isn't going to return only things that a given field's experts like. It's good that it's possible that if you hit enough criteria, you can be <i>one</i> of the top search result even if you aren't what the authorities like. It keeps things interesting.<p><i>What’s happening is that Google rewards longevity. AltaVista was around ages ago, gained a lot of links over time, and in particular links from other aged sites.</i><p>Again, I think it's good that Google is using the Internet's memory. Searching is seeking information. Altavista might just be the <i>term</i> for information on search engines with the most discussion around it. Maybe it's the "best search engine" but perhaps my searches for "search engines" isn't about that but rather about how a search engine is built, how people interact with a search engine or what-not. There, the memory of the Internet is crucial.<p>If every search for X becomes "what is the best X in the world", the Internet will be rather diminished.
I find it ironic that he's complaining about the relevancy of SEO companies on the first page.<p>After all, if they made it to Google's first page of results, so they have to be pretty good at SEO to get high results for the search for SEO... right?