When you search on Google you often get results that have nothing to do with your original search query. Take the search for Appel for instance. You probably would not expect sites about Apple in the search results. Google on the other hand thinks that is what the user is looking for and displays three Apple sites in the top five search results.
Google’s suggestion to use quotes “” for exact searches works most of the time but not all the time. Even searches in quotes are sometimes “interpreted” by Google. While the search giant may get it right some of the times, they fail at other times. The removal of the + search operator, some say to make way for the Google+ search options that have been implemented in Google Search, has made it even more difficulty to get exact results in the search results. Up until now, users had no real options to force Google to only return results for the query that they typed in.
In particular, Google may make automatic spelling corrections, personalize search, use synonyms and similar terms, searches for words with the same stem and making some terms optional. That’s a lot of manipulation, especially when users want to find exact matches only.
This changes with the new Verbatim search option that is rolled out right now by Google. The new option is hidden in the left sidebar menu and becomes only available after a click on More search tools there.
The feature is being rolled out and will be available to all Google users in the coming days. Webmasters should also take note that Google announced that they will apply “similar ideas directly” to their algorithms.
The Google Verbatim search option is a welcome addition that experienced users will come to like.
Users who want to force Google to search for the exact search term directly can add &tbs=li:1 to the query to do just that.
What’s your take on Google Verbatim? Let me know in the comments. You can read the official announcement at the Google Inside Search blog.
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Long overdue.
Now if Google would only keep the more search tools menu open by default.
I hope somebody will make a userscript to set Verbatim by default
My sentiments almost exactly – except I find Greasemonkey slows things down and don’t use it. Hopefully an equivalent userstyle (for Stylish) would be created by some wizard out there.
Alternative I use sometimes: it’s possible to convert a userscript into a Firefox add-on, here:
https://arantius.com/misc/greasemonkey/script-compiler.php
Unfortunately, of course, such custom made add-ons never can update themselves. So even though I habitually alter the ‘Firefox max version’ field to a higher number than is current, extended use of the add-on (as newer Firefox versions continue to appear) can become tricky.
And abolish semantics in web search ? I think interpreted queries are one of the big advantages of Google over competitors. Verbatim should not be an alternative but a necessary complement.
I personally think they should increase the visibility of the feature.
Long overdue, is right!
Hasn’t rolled out in my neck of the woods yet, but should be soon!
At this time, Verbatim available on Google.com but not yet on Google.fr (France).
Google searches have become more and more frustrating – unless you are shopping or looking to socialize. I’ve been using Ixquick.
I have no clue what Google is doing here!
Consider these 3 search strings, all of which are searching for the term
google verbatim
1) https://www.google.com/search?q=google+verbatim
This is not a verbatim search, returning around 9,000,000 results
2) https://www.google.com/search?q=google+verbatim&tbs=li:1
This is the standard verbatim search (I’ve removed all the additional guff Google adds to its search string, since this produces an identical number of results to selecting the Verbatim option), returning around 902,000,000 results. How is it possible for the more restrictive search (i.e. verbatim) to return around 900 times more than the less restrictive search?
3) https://www.google.com/search?q=google+verbatim&tbs=li:2
I wonder what this one does? It also states it’s a verbatim search, this time returning around 11,000,000 results.
IMHO, if Google cannot explain these discrepancies, then Google’s reputation for their search expertise is brought sharply into question.
Hot off the ‘press’: yesterday a userscript to add a Verbatim button to a Google search was posted. It’s called gooverbatim, and it’s here:
https://www.userscripts.org/scripts/show/118203
I’m currently testing it as a conversion to a Firefox add-on (as outlined in my earlier comment).
Test results: FAIL. No button appeared. Not on a Google search results page, not on www.google.com.
Maybe it works as originally intended (as a script within Greasemonkey). Has anyone else tried it?
I tried it right now and it works. It adds a second button next to the search button (yes really) which triggers a verbatim search. I used Scriptish and it worked fine.
Working for me too in Greasemonkey in Firefox..
But I had to edit the script and change
the “Yes, Really” text of the button.
Changed to what? “Verbatim” :)
OK, well, now I’ve gotten Scriptish (thanks, Martin – I’d never heard of it before) and the gooverbatim script does as Martin says. Like Robert Palmar I will have to change that unappealing button label.
But I pretty much never use Google’s search page (where the button appears). I search from highlighted in-page text or from the Firefox search bar.
The button *didn’t* appear where I’d hoped to find it: on a page full of [regular] search results.
Then I saw that my search results are on pages with a URL that looks like https://encrypted.google.com/search*
So I modified the gooverbatim script by adding
// @include https://encrypted.google.*/search*
to the list of pages it where will operate. Now the script is useful for me.
Better than nothing, but an auto-default script would be better.
Great tip, I did not try it on Google’s encrypted search engine.
Good point WebHybrid on adding the Google SSL url.
For me I used:
// @include https://encrypted.google.*
without the
/search*
A change that should not have been necessary.
And why hide it and give it a name that few know the meaning of?
More trickery simple as that!