Google is a security conscious company and by default all their sites are served over a more secure HTTPS connection that prevents nefarious people from looking at your traffic. Today, they have announced that they will begin to prioritize HTTPS websites when crawling them.
A European Union panel is trying to get Google to expand the recently passed “right to forgotten” law to the company’s international search engine Google.com. The group is arguing that it’s too easy for people using local versions of Google’s search URL to bypass de-listed links by visiting Mountain View’s primary web search URL which is currently not subject to the controversial ordinance.
As a result of an ongoing legal battle, Google recently changed the way it displays search results for news stories from select European publishers. A syndicate known as VG Media is claiming that Google’s search engine is letting people bypass their sites’ paywalls, and is demanding compensation for lost revenue. In an effort to smooth things over, Google removed text previews and thumbnail images from its search results for select publishers involved in this claim, but it appears that VG Media has had a change of heart.
Google has issued a fix for a mobile search bug that would redirect people to a website’s homepage instead of the results displayed. This would occur if a website wasn’t properly optimized to handle requests from smartphones and as a result a user would be redirected to mobile version of a site’s homepage instead. Starting today, Google will provide users with a warning that their search “may open the site’s homepage,” but will still offer a chance to try to visit the results displayed.
Google’s claim to fame is its ability to crawl the web and find information, however its mobile search results weren’t always the most favorable when looking for a hotel or restaurant. Sure, it pulls things up fairly quickly, but are they places that you suit your taste or better yet in your price range? Today, however, the company has released an update for its mobile search app that introduces a set of filters similar to what Yelp offers — guess that Zagat purchase is being put to use. Users can now tap the onscreen mic icon on their device and ask a specific question like “where’s the best Mexican food in downtown Los Angeles?” If you need a place to crash for the evening, you can also narrow things down by price, ratings or business hours. Currently the update is only available in the US, but Google hints that it’s working on bringing this feature to other territories.
(via Google)
Google has confirmed with Search Engine Land that the company is currently testing new a ‘sources’ display inside of Search. As you can see above, the sources section pulls in information, in this case about Rihanna, that has appeared on Wikipedia and various other sources. The section also pulls in song information, in Rihanna’s case.
In most instances while searching on Google you want to find definite information — fast. Google has implemented similar features inside of Search for weather, sports, math calculations, and more. Keep ’em coming!
