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As an enthusiastic searcher, you might be curious about why your search query produced the results that it did. With Google’s latest feature, you’ll be able to view those insights and more directly.
In a blog post, Google announced on July 22 that it would begin providing more information to users who click the ‘About This Result’ panel on a search result.
“About This Result will show searchers information about some of most important factors used by Google Search to connect results to their queries,” Product Manager Elizabeth Tucker wrote in the blog post. “Because just as these factors help Google decide if a result may be relevant, they may also help people decide what result is useful for them.”
Specifically, the ‘Your search and this result’ panel shows new, useful data underneath a single result. This includes relevant search terms, regional relevance, and which links from other sites influence a site’s ranking.
The results box had initially launched in February 2021 but had not had as many details until now.
This feature is understandably useful for SEOs, as it provides direct information that explains a site’s ranking – whether it’s the SEO’s own page or their competitors. Searchers who are curious about the results or who are looking for more transparency from Google might also appreciate the feature.
Here’s What Google is Showing
“The way Google determines what is relevant and reliable information for a given query is based on a lot of different factors,” Tucker wrote. “While it can seem complex, some of these fundamental concepts are actually quite simple, and can be useful for people to understand when they start searching.”
These are some of the features included among the new results:
Search terms within your result – shows you what terms in your search query matched up with what Google actually ranked
Search terms related to your search – shows suggestions for terms that may provide similar results
Other sites with results from your search terms – show sites with content that includes your search terms
Related images – indicates when a search has images (rather than written content) that you may be looking for
Language – informs you whether the result in question is written in English or a different language
Regional relevance – informs you whether the result in question is relevant to your region or for searchers elsewhere
Search tips – suggests ways to narrow your search to produce more specific results
The feature is currently available to English language searchers in the U.S., but Google says it will slowly roll out elsewhere.
