Yesterday Google introduced a new feature to help users improve the quality of the search results. It is now possible to block results for a search result page. After visiting a result and returning to the result page in Google a link will appear that allows you to “block all example.com” results. Once blocked, results from the specific domain will not appear anymore in any of your search results. Instead a message shows at the bottom of the page, telling you some results have been blocked. You will also be able to manage your blocked results.
For some of us this feature sounds familiar. You might think of Google’s SearchWiki, a feature that was introduced over two years ago. The features actually differ on a few levels. The table below shows the differences between the two:
Google Searchwiki | Block button | |
Possible actions: | Block results, add results, comment on results and put results at the top of SERPs | Only block results |
Impact on queries: | Only for the specific query | For all queries |
Impact on site: | Only on the specific result | On all results for the domain |
Goal: | Improve individual search experience | Improve individual search experience and generate data possibly to improve overall search quality |
Visibility: | Changes made to a result page are visible to everyone (anonymous) | Unknown (probably private) |