Google has implemented a tool in its popular search enging allowing
users to block the sites they don't want to see.
After the
recent change of Google's search algorithm - a move that has essentially blocked many web sites from the search engine's result
pages - Google is trying to convince users that they have the control
of the results returned from their search queries. In cases a search
result is not exactly what a user would expect, he / she will be
able to block any future results coming from specific sites with just
one click.
Once users click the link to "Block all xxxx.com results" they' ll
get a confirmation message, as well as the option to undo their
choice, Google said. Users will see the link whether or not they're
signed in, but the domains they block are connected with their Google
Account, so they'll need to sign in before they can confirm a block.
Once they' have blocked a domain, they won't see it in their future
search results. The next time they're searching and a blocked page
would have appeared, they'll see a message telling them results have
been blocked, making it easy to manage their personal list of blocked
sites.
Users will be able to see a list of their blocked sites in a new
settings page.
"We're adding this feature because we believe giving you control over
the results you find will provide an even more personalized and
enjoyable experience on Google," Google's engineers wrote in a blog.
Google also added that while it would not use the domains people
block as a signal in ranking, they'll look at the data and see
whether it would be useful as they continue to evaluate the search
engine's results in the future.
The new feature is rolling out today and tomorrow on google.com in
English for people using Chrome 9+, IE8+ and Firefox 3.5+, and will
be expanded to new regions, languages and browsers soon.