Google has said that from today, searches in the US will say if they think the results aren’t good enough (via The Verge).
Google search, as you know, is pretty good though. It’s hard to find a search result that returns absolutely nothing, but it is possible. It’s obvious on the rare occasion that that happens, nut less obvious is if your search returns less than adequate results.
In a blog post, Product Manager Elizabeth Tucker said;
“Starting today in the U.S., we’re rolling out a new message that lets you know when Google hasn’t been able to find anything that matches your search particularly well. While you can still go through the results to see for yourself if they’re helpful, the message is a signal that we probably haven’t found what you’re looking for. When possible, the feature will also provide some alternative searches as well as tips on how you could reformulate your query to better find the information you seek.”
If Google is able to successfully return alternative searches successfully then it’ll prove a decent upgrade to the usual suggestions which are most often related to typos and spelling.
Hopefully the feature will rollout beyond the US.
