Google 'Preferred Sites' Unclutters Search Results

Google may have slashed its budget for technology tinkering on engineers' pet projects, but that doesn't mean the company isn't seeking new ways to make its search-engine results better.

The company is experimenting with a search feature called Preferred Sites. Users can set Google Web search preferences to get search results that better match their needs and tastes.

Users fill in the sites they rely on the most, and results from those "preferred sites" will show up more often when they are relevant to a search query. The new feature affects searchers only when they are signed into a Google account, and the company promises other users won't see the customized search results or what preferred sites have been designated.

Earmarking Trusted Sites

Google suggested several ways users can take advantage of Preferred Sites. For example, they can add sites they trust for certain types of information, such as for sports scores, movie reviews, or health questions.

Searchers can also add local sites for news stories that are more relevant to them, like The Miami Herald if you live in Miami, Fla., or The Wall Street Journal. Google even lets searchers add their favorite blogs for news and information.

"Preferred sites is currently an experimental feature, and we're very interested in user feedback," a Google blog says. "If you have ideas about how to improve the feature, please let us know by posting in the Preferred Sites Discussion Group."

Getting Specific

Google said it relies on a user's Web history and other information from the user's Google account to suggest sites the engine thinks might be relevant. Searchers can select from these Google-developed suggestions or enter the URLs of any other sites.

Searchers can be as specific as they would like when adding preferred sites. For example, a user can add the entire CNN site at http://www.cnn.com as a preferred site, or http://money.cnn.com and http://weather.cnn.com to specifically add CNN's business and weather sites.

Removing preferred sites from the list is a matter of clicking the Remove link next to the site's URL and saving the preferences.

Uncluttering Search Results

Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, said this is part of Google's overall effort to provide more customization in search results.

"There are a lot of different scenarios where I could imagine that this would be very helpful. There's generally a lot of clutter in search results and you get a lot of duplication," Sterling said. "Google is using its algorithm to give you what they perceive to be the most trusted source on a particular query, but now also allowing you to add this other personal layer to that if you have a strong preference in a particular case."

Sterling used the example of searching for electronics. Guaranteeing that Amazon.com or a preferred electronics vendor would come up at the top of the search results could be valuable for some users.