Search Results Vary Widely By Search Engine?

[chesa7]

I know that each search engine has its own unique formula for generating search results, but the results for my site vary so dramtiacally that it puzzles me? I get much better rank searching on my keywords in Yahoo and MSN for example than Google -- one might be showing up on page one of results in Yahoo and in Google it is no where to be found. Does anyone have any insight as to what makes it easier/harder to get good organic results with Yahoo versus Google (for example)?

[Logan]

How long has your site been online? Most often when I see that scenario, it is because the site is new and google weighting things differently to y/m when it comes to the age of a site, page, links, etc.

[ktaylor310]

Not long ago I did a search and read through several forum threads regarding drastic ranking differences between Yahoo and Google. The statement was made several times (not saying it's true) that Yahoo still responds to pages that are spiked with keywords whereas Google does not. I also read that you can climb higher in Yahoo by stooping to this method, but count on a drop in Google. Can anyone validate or add to this theory?

Our site is broken into themes (1) merchant account info (2) credit card processing equipment including specifications (3) small business info/resources (4) retail info/resources.

We have never ranked as well in Yahoo as we do in Google, but Yahoo seems to rank more of the specific equipment pages, and MSN really likes the pages associated with small business & retail resources. We do well in Google for our general search terms and especially industry-specific pages, i.e, small business, trade shows, craft shows, franchises, home business.

I'm still trying to get my head around Torka's comment in another thread that SE's don't rank whole sites, but rather individual pages within the site, because from our rankings it sure does appear as though each search engine has picked their favorite theme/section of the site.

FYI - Logan, our site has been up for years.

[chesa7]

Logan, my site has been online a little over one year with a google page rank of 3 and about 3000 links so far. What do you think?

[spencer]

Give it some more time, build more quality links, and the site will start appearing in Google search results.

[Sporkman]

Large variances in the results doesn't surprise me, each company has their own proprietary ranking methods. Plus there's so much leeway in interpreting what users are searching for. Enter "thumb", does the user want a flash drive, or are they doing anatomical research, etc.