Search boxes! With recommended search terms!

In Japan they don't use URL's on advertsing, but instead have search boxes displayed with the releavnt search term. It makes sense, right? All the good domain names are gone. Getting people to a specific page in a big site is difficult (who's going to write down anything after the first slash?). And, most tellingly, I see increasingly more users already inadvertently put complete domain names like "gmail" and "netflix" into the Search box of their browsers out of habit — and it doesn't even register that Google pops up and they have to click to get to their destination.

But, could this be done in the here. Wouldn't search spammers and/or "optimizers" ruin this within seconds? I did a few tests with major name brands and they're almost always the top hit on Google (surprisingly, even Panic). But if Nabisco ran a nationwide ad campaign for a hot new product and told users to Google for "Burlap Thins" to learn more, wouldn't someone sneaky get there before they do?

For me this is all really about culture and how it effects peeps relattionship with technology.Most japanese people I know search for things instead of entering the URL manually. Sometimes they even search for the URL itself!

I think one of the biggest reasons for this is because URLs are in alphabet and Japanese just doesn't translate very well.

I did a quick test and as long as you use the japanese google page, they all show up as no 1. Mostly as Google sponsored links though. (web standards haven't really made it big in Japan yet)

Using search to promote your site is something that should be tried in the west too I think.