Google has announced a new feature set to help people discover content more relevant to their queries in search results.
There has been much debate recently regarding
the quality of search results in Google, with Search Engine Journal reporting people as saying it’s “getting worse” and that the younger generation is turning to TikTok and other alternatives as a means to uncover the information they’re looking for.Whether as a response to this or not, the new feature essentially turns short, broader search terms into longer, more specific terms – which should help to produce more relevant, quality search results.
For example, if a user was to search for “lunch ideas”, the possibilities with this are near endless and broadly range from a greasy chip bap to a healthy superfood salad. With the new feature, however, a series of suggestions to narrow down the query will appear directly underneath the search bar. For the “lunch ideas” query, this could contain options like “healthy”, “quick” and “vegetarian”. All users then need to do is tap the option they’d like, and Google will modify the query. If they’d like to then narrow it further – for example, by having “quick vegetarian lunch ideas” – users just need to tap again from the options that appear.
The options are dynamic, so if a user taps on “vegetarian”, they will then receive a series of options based on that addition to the query.
Google has stated that the filters are selected based on what its systems determine to be “most helpful” for a particular query. However, if a desired filter doesn’t show, users can select the “All filters” button, which appears at the end of the list, and search through all available filters – although arguably, it would be quicker to just amend the query in the search bar with the additional term(s).
This new feature was revealed back in September at Google’s annual Search On conference. Now, it’s being rolled out first to mobile search queries made in English in the US. Undoubtedly, it won’t be long before it’s expanded to other devices and countries, including here in the UK.
The new feature shows the importance of having specific content that meets the needs of a target audience. If you need help in creating content written with your target audience in mind, speak to our team here at Engage Web today.
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