Just when you think Google can't do any more to improve their search results, they continue to fine tune in subtle ways. And that's a good thing, because when you do spot these improvements, you will wonder what took them so long to implement.
One improvement is adding more information in search results so you can quickly determine if it's useful or not to click on the link.
For example, how many times have you search for something only to click on a search result that was an old forum post? For the most part, forums can be a great resource for information. But not if it's old or there are no replies to the post.
Now you can see if the post is current, because Google will display the date of the forum post along with information of the forum thread in the search result.
When Google finds a result, and it's a forum post, it now categorizes the search result (as a forum post) and provides further information about the thread such as the number of posts and authors in the thread.
Another example is with video searches. Google now displays the duration and the average rating (if it can find one).
No more watching long useless videos. With the time and rating information, you know exactly how long it will take to watch the video and if it's worth your time.
Sometimes searching for something can bring you to a page that was written in a different language. You know the page must be relevant to what your searching for, but you just can't read it. Instead of clicking on the link to the page, click on the link 'Translate this page' link to the right of the site link.
By clicking on it, Google will automatically translate the page to the default language setting of your browser.
(TIP: If you comes across a page in a different language, other than searching for it, copy and paste the URL into Google search box. Google will return the search result with the 'Translate this page' link next to the result.)
Google offers many specific types of search portals such as images, maps, news, shopping, etc. Instead of going to each portal, the search result menu now includes relevant links based on your search.
Take notice there is also a definition link that takes you to Answers.com for a quick definition of your search word.
Now a days, shopping on the Internet for the best price can be a snap, if you use search engines such as Yahoo Shopping or Shopzilla that compare prices and offers reviews. Google is finally catching up with their product and lets you compare prices.
As of now the compare prices feature seems to be limit to a few catagories (mostly electronics), but look for that to change over time.
Google is well known for some of their obscure search tricks and some of them are most useful when you are in hurry. One of them is checking if your airline flight is on time.
…If only it could tell me how long the Security line is.
Seen any other new improvements from Google not mentioned here? Leave a comment and let us know what you find.
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