What if Google keeps getting better

Most of the recent competitive worries about Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) have centered around whether its purchase of DoubleClick will help it corner the market on internet advertising and information. The search company's rumored buy-out of RSS feed company FeedBurner may be cause for more concern among Google rivals. FeedBurner, the largest player in its space, also has a system for delivering targeted ads.

What may be lost in all of this was brought up in The New York Times. Google continues to put tremendous effort into improving its core search function. The company's desire to bring back perfect results for every inquiry has led to "hundreds of Google engineers constantly tweaking the company's search engine in an elusive quest to close the gap between often and always." It is the Holy Grail of the search business. Perfect results for every user every time.

While it may seem a bit mad, Google's willingness to put this level of resources against a goal that is impossible is a very clear indication of why the company is so good at what it does. Google refuses to rest on past success.

For Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), surrender may be too strong a word. But, that could change.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.