Google adds even more search options
Last week we told you about how Google had added book search to their Search Options feature. This week they added more options.
The Search Options feature is a link added to Google’s [NSDQ:GOOG] search result pages. Click on the Search options link under the search form and Google will add a left hand column with additional services.
Bing and Yahoo have similar links in their left hand column. However, those left hand columns are part of the basic lay out. There is no need to click on a link to make it visible. It may be that Google do not want to confuse unskilled searchers unduly. We will unconfuse the service for you!
As you might remember from our original presentation of Search options, the column presents four sections with tools for refining your search. The first bullet point on each section is the default choice for a regular search.
Google has announced the following new features.
Under the time section (”Any time” is default):
Select “Past hour” to delimit your search to the freshest content available. This is as close as Google get to real time search at the moment.
Select “Specific date range” to restrict your search to pages published within a specific time period. (This option was added this summer).
Among the already existing options we find “Past 24 hours”, “Past week” and “Past year”.
Under the type of result section (”Standard results” is default):
This section appears if you search for something Google can interpret as a search for a product or a service. If you are out shopping, click on the “More shopping sites” to get more commercial offers.
If you are looking for information, click on the “Fewer shopping sites” link to get more product research information.
Among the already existing options under this section we find “Images from the page” and “More text [in the snippets presenting the results]“.
Under the type of database section (”All results” is default):
You may now, as we reported last week, narrow your search down to Books, Blogs and News, in addition to Video, Forums and Reviews.
Google says:
“Books, Blogs and News: Click on these filters to see results only from these sources. Putting these filters together, along with videos, forums, and reviews, allows you to quickly switch between different source types right on the search results page.”
Interestingly enough, at the moment of writing we cannot get the Book search option to appear, not even for relevant searches like “Charles Dickens”. Nor does the News option appear for searches for “Barack Obama” and “Iran”. This is probably a glitch, or it may be that these options do not work from Norway at the moment.
Under the Visited section (”All results” is default):
You may now limit your search to pages you have already visited, which can be especially useful if you want to retrace a page you have already seen.
The “Not yet visited” option is useful if your searching so far has left you with nothing but frustration.
To use this option you’ll need to be signed in to your Google Account and have Web History enabled.
Note that you can combine the various search options. You may for instance construct a search for “Iran opposition”, restricting results to blog posts published in the last 24 hours. This is what makes the feature such a powerful tool.
See also Search Engine Land: Up Close With Google Search Options.
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Original post by Per and Susanne Koch