By bbr

by Matt Galchick, our awesome new intern

Nearly everyone is familiar with the phase “Google it.” It’s been used in all settings from the classroom to the boardroom. At the click of a mouse, information regarding almost uncountable topics and answers to a myriad of questions are at your disposal. It can’t get any easier than that, can it? Actually, it can. Google has made it even easier to “Google it” with updates to its search engine enhancement Knowledge Graph.

Knowledge Graph uses semantic search to improve accuracy of a search while providing more options and links that represent Google’s best guess as to what you’re seeking. For example, if one were to look up “Chicago” in the search engine, literally millions of search results would appear. With Knowledge Graph, the results are separated and categorized to better suit your needs. Do you want Chicago the city? Chicago the band? Or maybe Chicago the movie? Knowledge Graph provides multiple choices for each as well as links to other topics related to your search. For example, if you choose Chicago the musical group, Google will provide targeted links on everything from number one hits to band members. It will even provide links to other bands of that era, just in case you’re interested.

It doesn’t get any easier than that, correct? Not so fast. Google now provides an information link that gives a summary of the page when you click on the small link beside the hyperlink. (It’s the grey link next to the primary link name in green.) This feature appears only on desktop searches, not those conducted via smartphone or tablet.

So now when you look things up at your computer, you get extra insight on a link before you even click it, potentially saving you a little more time by preventing clicks that take you in the wrong direction. To learn more about this feature and Knowledge Graphing, you can read what Google itself has to say here.

Unfortunately, not every topic will have this feature. According to TechCrunch: “The extra information will only be provided for sites that are ‘widely recognized as notable online’… which means that it’s not likely that you’ll see some random person’s blog on page 10 of Google’s search results getting the same treatment.” Even with only the larger and more familiar sites explained, getting a preview to verify the contents is likely to prevent a bit of hassle for many searchers who are unfamiliar with an included site.

So what do you think of the latest development in Googling? Will it make searching easier for you or will it just muddy up your current process? We’d like to hear your thoughts.