Recently I have had a few clients express concern that Google results tend to display more social based or “user generated” results than typical websites. I have heard this from a diverse range of demographics and it all came down to wishing Google would allow more personalized search options. If there was a way to turn off “social” based web results at times it would allow those web users to control what type of information and results they are given and provide a more meaningful experience. I believe Google does a fantastic job at improving their offering and I knew that something was going to come out to address this need.
Well, yesterday I noticed an enhancement on Google results and thought the ability to personalize search results and even remove “social” based results might not be too far away. I did some research into this and learned that the feature is called “Google Search Options.” Here is a short video explaining it:
Unfortunately, the way Google Search Options is currently structured, it does not meet the needs of those that want to remove social results altogether; the Search Options only allows users to see even more focus around social, such as reviews and videos. If you are one of those that wants less social, please don’t give up just yet! I wanted to make sure you were aware of this new enhanced Google Search Options feature because if enough people request the option to turn off “social” based results it would not be a big stretch for Google to add just one more filter to this Options area.
To explain how this feature works (just in case you did not want to watch the video above) let’s say you were looking online for an “Acura TL” and were interested in only videos. Sure you could have searched for “Acura TL videos”; however, this feature would allow you to search a more broad based phrase and then quickly select one of the search options to see different results:
Click on Show Options and on the left sidebar and a new area immediately shows up that allows you to change your results to show “All results,” “Videos,” “Forums” and “Reviews.” You can also sort by date so for those looking for a review on Acura TL within the last 24 hours can filter the search. I played around with this feature and found it to be quite beneficial in its current form. Over the past 24 hours I found myself slightly changing how I search with broader based phrases and then playing with this feature to narrow down what I was looking for. As an online marketer these kinds of features are exciting because they allow us to really think about the user and how to provide them with the best experience possible. This is just good usability and personalized search is going to become more and more advanced.
What are your thoughts on this feature? Will you use it? Would you like to see Google add an option for “No social?” Will this change how you search? Let us know!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
“Thanks, Jay, for contributing to the awesome blog that is the Sitewire Blog…”
I’m excited for personalized search to even more advanced and prominent because like your clients, I don’t want social search results all the time. The more of that I can weed out, the easier it is for me to find reliable academic sources for school or otherwise. Thanks for writing about this!
i really like that we can weed out different types of results with one “click.” their previous feature of deleting certain listings seemed like a clumsy, but similar, solution. I agree that having a filter that would only allow websites, articles, etc (those less social sources) would be helpful if you were looking for a certain resource that you couldn’t get from reviews, videos, or other social content. Let me customize my search results further Google!!!
Thank you Jay. Good post and the video is especially helpful. I agree that there should be a social media filter option. Would be very helpful. Interesting that you can filter to see only video or only forums or only reviews. What I really find interesting with this new feature set is the timeline; very helpful. The Wonderwheel is interesting and very interactive but it needs a little more documentation as to how it is displaying.
I agree, Jay. A “Social” filter would be a great idea. (I can’t think with all these voices in my head). Meanwhile, as Google’s filters grow in popularity SEO strategies will change somewhat. Companies that haven’t already done so, will begin to focus on capturing first page through as many filters as possible.