Try this nifty new way to speed up your searches

John Murray

When using Google, do you ever find yourself following up one search with another? If so, the search engine has introduced a way to enter a new search query without scrolling back to the top of the screen, or, worse still, returning to the Google home page.

Last week, 9to5Google.com spotted that Google was now notifying users of a way to “jump” to the search box, wherever they might be on the page.

How can I do this?

When browsing through the search results, simply hit the / key on your keyboard. Wherever you are on the page, this will bring up the search box without you losing your place in viewing the results.

Of course, this only works when Googling on a desktop computer. On a mobile device, it’s usually not possible to type a key without actually being in a text box, so users will need to keep scrolling back to the search box.

What’s the point in this?

There are cases where you might want to manually check how your pages are ranking for a certain search term, or see which sites are ranking for a specific term. There are clever tools that can automate this process, but if you just have a handful to check or want to keep the process simple, this should speed it up and cut down on the amount of repetitive scrolling.

Moreover, though, it shows that Google is recognising that one search often leads to another. Back in 2016, I noticed that Google had a slightly spooky ability to guess what your next search was going to be. The example I gave of searching for an eyed hawk moth still works today.

In 2015, Moz.com predicted that so-called “compound queries” – using more than one query to ascertain information about the same subject – would “dramatically alter the way search and SEO [search engine optimisation] work” over the coming years. Although the article is now rather old, it gives some still-relevant insight into indexing and data-driven search.

However many searches it takes the user, you want to make sure your site appears for their search term. For SEO-friendly content, speak to us at Engage Web.

About
Latest Posts

John Murray

Content Editor at Engage Web

John studied English with Creative Writing at university and went on to write for newspapers in both West Yorkshire and Chester. A published poet, short story writer and music blogger with a flair for quick pun-delivery, John is a genuine word nerd and a member of a Scrabble club, so it was only natural that he went on to work in a wordy position.

Try this nifty new way to speed up your searches