The Shark Tank

Many people use Google to search for information, find local businesses, read the news, and more. While searching for specific information, some people may begin to wonder, “Why is Google showing me these specific results?”

Google has recently announced the addition of the About This Result panel, a new tool to learn more about how Google returned results for your query.  The About This Result panel is displayed by three dots next to a majority of results and provides information about why a result is showing in the SERP. The panel displays the more important factors used by Google Search to provide their results to user queries and helps users decide if the result is actually useful for them. These important factors include:

1. Matching keywords: One of the main factors that Google uses to determine which results are relevant to a user’s search is the keywords within their search query. The panel will display the search terms that appear in the results, showing how user search is connected to the result.
2. Related terms: This factor displays terms related to your search query. This can include synonyms and pages with similar terms.
3. Links: The panel will also include links to other pages that use similar terms as your query and that may be helpful to your search. The links can also act as an indicator of whether or not other sites and content writers think that the page is useful.
4. Local relevance: This factor displays the location associated with the search query and results. Google uses your location to provide relevant results for your area.

The feature also includes search tips and ways to modify your search to get the results you are looking for. Users can adjust their searches by adding quotes to phrases or words, or by adding minus signs to exclude terms from the search results.

Google has begun rolling out the About This Result panel starting in the United States and plans on having the feature completely live for both mobile and desktop in the coming week.