Is the Google AJAX Search API a huge bug?

^{Dedicated to Google SOAP API developers ...}



For those who do not know what it is - this is an API with which you can make queries to the Google search engine.

A thing would seem very useful, because registration of keys to the SOAP Search API was discontinued more than 3 years ago,

while HTML parsing has a lot of shortcomings, except for one advantage - the identity of the data received by the user, with the identity of the data received by the program.

The output data format is JSON, which is much easier to use than SOAP, it can also be used by the client-side in JS or Flash.



I met this API about a year ago, and was very disappointed in it.

Why you ask? The answer is simple - the results produced through the API are very different from the search engine output via the Web.

Although, logically, they should be, if not identical, then very close in meaning.



But, having seen that at the moment they are not in production, I sincerely hoped that by the time Labs exited the problems would be solved.

So, the AJAX Search API was released in production, the SOAP Search API will be closed on August 31, since according to Google is not needed.

')

I decided to check how things are, and compared the current search results, SOAP API and AJAX API.

The object of comparison is the number of pages found by the search query, keywords were not specifically selected.



Too lazy to look at - the results are very different, which reduces the value of the Google AJAX Search API to zero.



Further test results:

Simple request

	Number of results			Difference (%)
Request	Web	SOAP	AJAX	SOAP	AJAX
concrete	80 300 000	79,800,000	14,100,000	0.62	82.44
block retaining wall	1,140,000	1,170,000	1,090,000	-2,63	4.39
block walls	15 700 000	15 600 000	4,830,000	0.64	69.24
brick patio	1 030 000	1,040,000	814,000	-0.97	20.97
build retaining wall	473,000	468,000	173,000	1.06	63.42
building material	132,000,000	137,000,000	114,000,000	-3.79	13.64
building materials	73 100 000	74 900 000	59,400,000	-2.46	18.74
carolinas concrete masonry association	63,600	62 700	49,200	1.42	22.64
ccma	327,000	324,000	113,000	0.92	65.44
cement block	6,650,000	6,620,000	4,740,000	0.45	28.72
cement blocks	16,200,000	16 300 000	15 200 000	-0,62	6.17
concrete block	4,070,000	4,070,000	2,350,000	0.00	42.26
concrete block homes	4,130,000	4,200,000	2,570,000	-1,69	37.77
concrete block houses	2,210,000	2,210,000	1,400,000	0.00	36.65
concrete building	159 000 000	18 600 000	17 600 000	88.30	88.93
concrete company	16 600 000	17 600 000	16,400,000	-6.02	1.20
concrete construction	16 800 000	16 500 000	15 300 000	1.79	8.93
concrete contractor	4,800,000	4,760,000	2,250,000	0.83	53.13
concrete contractors	4,990,000	4,870,000	2,400,000	2.40	51.90
concrete countertop	4,530,000	772,000	495,000	82.96	89.07
concrete flooring	17 300 000	17,400,000	15 400 000	-0,58	10.98
concrete home	52 200 000	52 800 000	15 400 000	-1.15	70.50
concrete homes	43 200 000	44,000,000	19,400,000	-1.85	55.09
concrete masonry unit	1,180,000	1 110 000	1,080,000	5.93	8.47
concrete mixer	2 120 000	2 100 000	961 000	0.94	54.67
concrete overlay	311,000	308,000	194 000	0.96	37.62
concrete pavers	577,000	578,000	359,000	-0.17	37.78
concrete products	16 800 000	17 600 000	15 500 000	-4.76	7.74
concrete retaining wall	386,000	893,000	325,000	-131.35	15.80
concrete sealer	332 000	331,000	206,000	0.30	37.95
concrete steps	2 640 000	18 300 000	2 110 000	-593.18	20.08
concrete work	20 100 000	19,900,000	19,200,000	1.00	4.48
construction masonry	1,370,000	1,410,000	1,270,000	-2.92	7.30
green building materials	120,000,000	123,000,000	119,000,000	-2.50	0.83
landscape pavers	936,000	927,000	164 000	0.96	82.48
landscaping rock	1,190,000	6 520 000	1,140,000	-447.90	4.20
masonry	13 300 000	13,200,000	2,460,000	0.75	81.50
masonry block	524,000	2 780 000	448,000	-430,53	14.50
masonry contractors	1,620,000	1,640,000	1,010,000	-1.23	37.65
pavers	3,000,000	2,960,000	615,000	1.33	79.50
paving	14,200,000	14,200,000	2 490 000	0.00	82.46
paving stone	1,460,000	1,470,000	1,060,000	-0,68	27.40
paving stones	1,540,000	1,540,000	219,000	0.00	85.78
precast concrete	1,130,000	1,120,000	351,000	0.88	68.94
retaining wall	2,260,000	2,270,000	1,040,000	-0.44	53.98
retaining wall blocks	3 480 000	1,180,000	1,100,000	66.09	68.39

Requesting an exact match

	Number of results		Difference (%)
Request	Web	SOAP	AJAX	SOAP	AJAX
'concrete'	80 500 000	79,800,000	14,200,000	0.87	82.36
'block retaining wall'	33,200	33,100	6,950	0.30	79.07
'block walls'	227,000	224,000	59 700	1.32	73.70
'brick patio'	246,000	244,000	43 900	0.81	82.15
'build retaining wall'	17,100	13,500	1 990	21.05	88.36
'building material'	3 470 000	3 480 000	638 000	-0.29	81.61
'building materials'	17,400,000	17,500,000	3,890,000	-0.57	77.64
'carolinas concrete masonry association'	2,600	2,580	327	0.77	87.42
'ccma'	326,000	324,000	113,000	0.61	65,34
'cement block'	224,000	221,000	49,800	1.34	77.77
'cement blocks'	169 000	167 000	40 300	1.18	76.15
'concrete block'	2,040,000	2 030 000	351,000	0.49	82.79
'concrete block homes'	5,320	5 280	1,210	0.75	77.26
'concrete block houses'	6,080	5,930	1 510	2.47	75.16
'concrete building'	770 000	354,000	84 700	54.03	89.00
'concrete company'	176,000	177,000	32 200	-0.57	81.70
'concrete construction'	1,560,000	1 520 000	229,000	2.56	85.32
'concrete contractor'	383,000	383,000	59 500	0.00	84.46
'concrete contractors'	2 630 000	2 620 000	374 000	0.38	85.78
'concrete countertop'	50 600	50 500	13,600	0.20	73,12
'concrete flooring'	402,000	401,000	72 600	0.25	81.94
'concrete home'	124,000	124,000	24 700	0.00	80.08
'concrete homes'	74 900	75 500	18,700	-0.80	75.03
'concrete masonry unit'	31 500	31,000	7,390	1.59	76.54
'concrete mixer'	1,290,000	1,280,000	481,000	0.78	62.71
'concrete overlay'	96,400	95 900	20,700	0.52	78.53
'concrete pavers'	214,000	214,000	53,400	0.00	75.05
'concrete products'	1,820,000	1,830,000	299,000	-0,55	83.57
'concrete retaining wall'	65,800	65,500	13,200	0.46	79.94
'concrete sealer'	90 300	90 400	20 200	-0.11	77.63
'concrete steps'	607,000	603,000	159 000	0.66	73.81
'concrete work'	758,000	754,000	127,000	0.53	83.25
'construction masonry'	145,000	111,000	13,000	23.45	91.03
'green building materials'	114,000	114,000	35 300	0.00	69.04
'landscape pavers'	14,200	14,100	3,140	0.70	77.89
'landscaping rock'	41 300	41,100	6,060	0.48	85,33
'masonry'	13 300 000	13,200,000	2,460,000	0.75	81.50
'masonry block'	74,100	73 900	16 300	0.27	78.00
'masonry contractors'	601 000	602,000	70 800	-0.17	88.22
'pavers'	2 990 000	2 980 000	617,000	0.33	79.36
'paving'	14,200,000	14,200,000	2,480,000	0.00	82,54
'paving stone'	700,000	442,000	76 900	36.86	89.01
'paving stones'	1,010,000	1,020,000	110,000	-0.99	89.11
'precast concrete'	992,000	990 000	228,000	0.20	77.02
'retaining wall'	1,600,000	1,610,000	398,000	-0.63	75.13
'retaining wall blocks'	20,600	20,600	5 110	0.00	75.19

With this post I want to attract the attention of developers - please make sure that the results of your product did not show the weather in Africa, but at least the results of the SOAP Search API.



And for myself I did



Conclusion: If you need identical results in your projects, do not use the Google AJAX Search API.