Oh Google, how could you do this to me? I was already
addicted to you and your endless data. I already spoke to you more times per
week than my mother and all my friends combined. I already couldn’t imagine my
life without your bold primary colors gracing my computer screen. And then you
had to go and make my life even….easier?
Those statements may be a tad dramatic, but two weeks after the launch of
Google Search Options I can officially say that I’m hooked. Approximately one
month ago I began my search for Halong Bay overnight cruises, which proved to
be tricky. Like most tourist attractions in Vietnam there are endless scam
artists and copycat companies, so I wanted to find a reputable operator with
positive traveler experiences. I found myself scanning the Google SERP for only
the domains of travel forums I recognized, e.g. Travelfish and Thorn
Tree. Given that I have about as much patience as a 2-year-old, this took
more time than I desire d. I also became frustrated as I kept coming across posts
that were 4 years old – clearly out of date given the dynamic nature of
Vietnam’s tourism industry. I could have gone to Advanced Search to further
refine my search, but instead I decided to give up for the time being.
Enter Search Options. This time after searching for “halong bay cruises” I was
able to easily display results from only forums that were posted in the past
year. In a much shorter period of time I ended up with a list of 3 reputable
cruise operators within my price range based on traveler experience. Wham, bam,
thank you Google.
Now, Search Options is far from perfect. I would prefer to see more result
types than just Videos, Forums and Reviews. Forums and Reviews support the
research end of the buying cycle, but what about users who are close to the
time of purchase? What about coupon sites? Shopping sites? Now, not all
of these would make sense in the context of searches (particularly ones around
people and Wikipedia articles). But, Google could do something similar to Bing
(though not as spammy) and use related search data to provide relevant
categories. Additionally, I would prefer to have a date option between past
week and past year (you’re missing 51 weeks in there, Google).
Regardless of its imperfections, I tip my hat to The Big G for this feature –
namely because it shows real insight into the way consumers make
decisions. Users react very differently to separate types of media –
particularly in the area of trust. A Forrester report
indicated that 60% of consumers trust product ratings and reviews from other
consumers, while only 21% trust forum posts. A separate Nielsen study echoed this with 61% of consumers trusting reviews, while only 34% indicated
trust of search engine ads. Depending on the nature of the search query, it
makes perfect sense that a user is often looking for specific types of websites – and
Google just made it that much easier to find them.
I’d love to see more features along these lines from Google and other engines. While search is not broken, there is still significant room for improvement of the user experience. Search features should always be firmly rooted in an understanding of the way users behave and the type of information they seek. It’s certainly been an exciting couple of weeks for search given the announcements at Google I/O and Searchology – what could be next?
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