Tag Archives: customized search

Customized Search Results by Only Searching Specific Web Site

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1 of the more interesting search features that most people know nothing about are customized search engines. I first experienced these with Rollyo in 2005.

I use a similar feature available via Google now to provide customized search results for topics such as investing, engineering and my Curious Cat web sites.

Setting up a Google Custom Search Engine is very easy. Essentially you just setup an account and then add the sites you want included in the search engine. Then you can get a search box to add to your site that will return results based on the web sites you selected.

Related: Don’t Hide Important Content Using Coding Gimmicks – Ignoring Direct Social Web Signals for Search Results – Don’t Use URL Shorters

Let me Filter Out Websites Using Popups from Search Results

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I wish Google, Duck Duck Go or some decent search engine would let me filter out website using popups from search results (as I have written before – Remove Popup Ad Sites From Search Results). By popups I mean all the coding to create popup interaction; lately many sites have coded popups in a way to not obey the preferences in my browser.

All many websites have done is found a way to get around my preferences by using code to create popups that circumvents my expressed desires for my browser’s behavior. Actively coding around my desires is a behavior that is obviously hostile to users. I don’t really want to see site that are hostile to users in my search results.

I would want a way to whitelist sites that have convinced me they are worth using even though they intentionally code so as to create popups when I have expressly indicated I don’t want them used.

Ideally a search engine would downgrade results based on the level of customer hostility practiced (kind of like Hipmunk’s agony ranking of plane flight options). It seems obvious to me this is a desirable state but I imagine it will likely take years for search engines to get there so let me block bad sites, for now. Google too 6 years to let me block bad sites but like many of the adjustments since Larry Page become CEO this advance seems to have been rolled back (or possibly just made next to impossible by lousy Ux).

Related: Web Search Improvements Suggestions from 2005 (most of which I am still waiting for) – Google Social Circle Results – Improve Google Search Results (2006)