Does Google SearchWiki improve the user experience?

By Carla Dierke

I’ve been playing around with Google’s SearchWiki for the past 2 weeks, since they released it. If you haven’t read about it, I need to tell you that Google is trying to change the way we search, this time with the introduction of customised searching. Google SearchWiki allows you to annotate, rank, and even remove Google search results from your screen.

But will this improve the user experience? Will SearchWiki revolutionise the way we search?

In theory, yes! Reflecting on my own searching habits, it matches my profile perfectly. The ability to annotate entries will save me a lot of time – for example, when trying to relocate that useful site I visited 6 months ago and now need to find again. Ranking will remove the frustration I feel every time I try Google my internet banking login and it comes up as the 3rd or 4th entry (before you ask, the link is lost amongst my 1000s of other disorganised bookmarks). The new functionality provides me with the opportunity to refine the way I search and provides me with a richer experience when interacting with my results. For experienced searchers who embrace the change, searching, as we know it, may be forever changed.

In reality this is not quite so clear cut. After playing around with the new features over the past 2 weeks I accidentally deleted some entries that I cannot get back, I re-ranked my internet banking only to discover that it does not tie in with the “I’m feeling lucky” button, and I found myself greedily searching Foviance and other companies to see if anyone left some inappropriate comments. I’m sure my behaviours don’t quite match the “experience” that was envisioned…

The ability to customise searches is a very specialised behaviour which I predict will be beneficial to a select group. For this group, searching has been taken to a new level where the clean and clear design has not only enhanced the user experience but provided them with a new experience and way to interact with search.

Will it ever be adopted by the masses, who return to Google for its simplicity? – only time will tell. Until SearchWiki moves from experimental to best practice and an expected norm in searching, it risks over complicating the user experience for the majority. I am already mentally preparing answers for my less technically savvy friends and family for when they accidentally stumble across the functionality and need my assistance.