SearchEngineRoundtable.com reports that “Google Thinks some Searches are Worth a Single Domain of Results.” Editor Barry Schwartz says that Google is now allowing a single domain to dominate a search result, depending upon what the subject of the search happens to be. Now, some subjects can produce results consisting up to 80% listings from the same domain on a query.

Schwartz admits to observing this phenomenon before Google announced it, and dismissed it as a bug. However, it appears to be anything but. Google sees it as a useful feature.

Schwartz cites an announcement from Google that says, in part: “For queries that indicate a strong user interest in a particular domain, like [exhibitions at amnh], we’ll now show more results from the relevant site.” Then using as an example a search for the American Natural History Museum, Google explains that instead of getting just two results for the keyword “exhibitions at amnh,” people will now find seven, and hopefully find what they are looking for faster.

Schwartz wasn’t the only one who was skeptical. SEO commentator Sam Tilston, in his article “Ranking Algorithm Change,” believes the change could be beneficial, but only when used with other available Google tools. For example, Tilston says, “I think (the algorithm change) could be exploited if a site targets keywords using the Google wonder wheel.” He then provides a visual example of how the new system works, using the search term “managed hosting.”

While Tilston was able to find a practical use, the verdict is still out for Schwartz. “I don’t see how it is useful to get 80% or more of the search results for a single query from the same domain, no matter what the search query is,” he writes.