Google has long offered power users a chance to control their search results by adding prompts to their search terms. We’ve published a couple of guides showing you how to improve your Google search results. It now looks like Google is going to augment one particular search prompt as the company has released details of an update that will affect using quotation marks in your search terms.
Adding quotation marks around certain words and phrases in your search terms tells Google that you only want it to show you pages that have those exact words and phrases on the page. As search has evolved, however, with Google now offering snippets of information from certain webpages right there on the search results page, Google is now looking to adjust the quotation marks search feature to work with snippets too.
The update will tailor the snippets of text shown in the Google search results around the text you have included inside the quotation marks. This means you’ll be able to see the on-page context where your key search term or phrase is being used, which should enable you to make a better and more informed decision about which search result to select. Google is also going to display the quoted text in bold to make it even easier for you to spot it in the snippets displayed in your search results.
Despite all this Google says that it is probably better to use the regular search function first and then focus your search attempts further afterwards if you haven’t been able to find what you were looking for. The search giant says:
“Using quotes can definitely be a great tool for power users. We generally recommend first doing any search in natural language without resorting to operators like quotation marks. Years ago, many people used operators because search engines sometimes needed additional guidance. Things have advanced since then, so operators are often no longer necessary.”
So that is a neat little tweak that could help you improve your Google search results and make it easier for you to find what you are searching for. In other Google-related news, Google Maps on Android is getting an exciting new upgrade.
