Is MSN better than Google? How does Ask Jeeves stack up against Yahoo? Which of the Big4 search firms produces the most relevant results? Those questions are difficult to answer as what is relevant to one searcher might not be particularly relevant to another. Search engines are the tools we use to thread the eye of the needles found in the universal haystack we know as the Net. As our primary provider of information references, search engine relevancy is an important issue. Everyone has a favourite search engine and most SEOs complain about the relevancy of results found on one or more of the Big4. The easiest way to get quantifiable data is to hold a blind-test challenge in which participants can rate results without knowing which search engine those results originate from.

RustyBrick, a Website/webtools construction firm based in Rockland County New York has created a search tool designed to act as a user-driven survey of the relevance of search results delivered by the Big4 search engines. Described as a “white-label” search engine, “RustySearch” offers users a sparse white page with a general text box to enter their search query. It then serves generic results pulled from one of the Big4 with a side link asking users to rate the relevancy of the listing. Results of this survey will be released on the SEORoundtable Blog on or about June 1st.