Take the Google taste test

Seth Godin pointed out an interesting experiment going on where customers blindly search 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo! and MSN) and choose which results seem most relevant. Google is ahead in with 42% of votes, but it is interesting to see that Yahoo! (31.18%) and MSN (26.82%) are holding their own. Seth suggests that the reason for this is consumers' perceptions: Consumers buy into the idea that Google is better because it seems better due to things like design, etc. Marketing, and particularly marketing intangible services like libraries, is largely about managing perceptions, a fact that's important to keep in mind as we think about what image we're putting out there for patrons.