On Thursday, Cedric Dupont, a Google Product Manager, and Corin Anderson, a Google Software Engineer posted in the Official Google blog on the exciting launch of SearchWiki.
I stumbled upon this feature accidentally. When my boss sent me a link to a certain Google SERP, we wondered, “What are these funny little buttons next to each link? Promote? Remove? You mean... the actual link??”
Yes, that’s about right. SearchWiki is Google’s latest enhancement that lets you tailor each search engine result page to your personal specifications. Re-rank each link by “promoting” it to the top of the page, “removing” it from the listing completely (literally... POOF and it’s gone), or adding new links Google didn’t pick up in the first place. You can even leave text comments below each link to remind yourself, “Ah, this is a great website for local restaurants!” or, “This site has a wonderful collection of photography!”
Basically, SearchWiki is Google’s way of saying, “Here, take my hand, take my power, and do what I do... but do it for you!”
Ah, there’s the catch. Every modification you make to your searches with SearchWiki will only be visible to you (you didn’t think Google was going to give you all the power, did you?) and SearchWiki will only be accessible when you are signed into your Google account. But since Google will store all of your preferences, notes, and additions in your account, they go where you go, and will carry through to every future search you make.
Even though you’re the only one who will see your rank changes, you can choose to “See all notes for this SearchWiki” by clicking on that option in the footer of the SERP. Want to read user reviews of each website you visit? Now, you basically can.
I for one and extremely excited about SearchWiki. It seems as if Google is constantly rolling out more features to enhance browser experience— everything from Artistic Themes to personalize your GMail inbox, to quirky gadgets for your iGoogle homepage, and now, fully-customizable search results. I invite you to check out the original Google blog post, which features a short video tutorial explaining how to use each feature of SearchWiki. Enjoy!
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