How to be 5% More Satisfied with Search

The new feature dubbed 'Instant Previews' by Google was recently announced via the official Google blog. It follows in the footsteps of the recently introduced 'Google Instant' feature which guesses what you want to search for in real time - as you type. Previously, Google use textual snippets from the ranked websites generated from the site description or on-page text to inform a searcher about what to expect on a page in the search lisitngs. With Instant Previews one can now see a version of the website in the listings before actually clicking on that results. So it's a graphical preview versus a text-based preview.

The results appear graphically with the search text from the listing highlighted on the page thumbnail so you can view the relevent section of the page. There has been quite a bit of online speculation regarding exactly how much computing power (and financial investment) is required to bring up the entire Internet graphically in more or less real-time. Google has been mum on the subject.

Here's the really good part though: Google's testing revealed that searchers using the Instant Previews feature were 5% more likely to be satisfied with the ultimately chosen results. According to Google this is because with Instant Previews you can:

''Quickly compare results - A visual comparison of search results helps you pick the one that’s right for you. Quickly flip through previews to see which page looks best.
Pinpoint relevant content - Text call outs, in orange, will sometimes highlight where your search terms appear on the webpage so you can evaluate if it’s what you're looking for.
Interact with the results page - Page previews let you see the layout of a webpage before clicking the search result. Looking for a chart, picture, map or list? See if you can spot one in the preview.''

Several prominent web hosting providers were generally bullish on the new search method. For example, one firm who are experts in virtual dedicated servers saw the graphical enhancement as letting potential buyers view the actual hardware that the buyer might be purchasing. 

There is a self-explanatory video of the new feature on Google's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGaU7JKU7TU.

You can find out more about the new feature and possibly try it our (Google-willing) by visiting Google.com/instantpreviews. Bet you'll be 5% more satisfied if you do.