Google's Personal Blocklist Feature Lets Users Ban Websites From Search Results

Google has released an experimental extension for its Chrome browser that will allow users to block "content farms" from appearing in Google search results.

Content farms, websites that specialize in producing tons of material--no matter the quality--to maximize their traffic from search queries, often appear at the top of a list of search results, sometimes crowding out better, original material.

Google Chrome's Personal Blocklist extension lets users eliminate unwanted websites from search results. Users who download the extension also can edit their block lists, if they wish.

Google will take note of the sites that users block and could possibly use these data to up the quality of its search results. "If installed, the extension also sends blocked site information to Google, and we will study the resulting feedback and explore using it as a potential ranking signal for our search results," according to a blog post by Googler Matt Cutts.

Reactions to the effort are mixed. "We welcome Personal Blocklist extension as a great tool for personalizing search results," writes Mashable. TechCrunch is not so convinced, writing that most users won't ever use the extension. "There is also the possibility that rival content farms can use the tool to sabotage each other," TechCrunch adds. VentureBeat says that users could block sites that are uninteresting, rather than targeting spammy search results.

Nevertheless, a personal blocklist may prove to be a step in the right direction.

Check out the screenshot (below) to see how Chrome applies the extension to search results. In the comments, tell us if you think this feature will lead to less spam in Google's search list, and if you find it helpful.

LOOK:

Comments

[GregorycJones]

09:49 AM on 02/16/2011

Has anyone else noticed a new wave of spam flowing through Facebook? Check this out ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty87V1hE8FE

[Stilyagi]

02:16 AM on 02/16/2011

Love the idea, but why just Chrome? I don't use Chrome, it sucks (literally: memory). Would like to see this browser-independent, as a feature in Google search. I can't believe how much time is wasted when I am looking for something, and fake spam sites somehow list my search term when there is no data on the site at all, that's related to my term.

[MaxPowerXP]

10:03 AM on 02/16/2011

Uh, do you actually understand Chrome's memory usage and have you ever looked at the memory footprint of any other browser?

[Stilyagi]

12:57 PM on 02/16/2011

Uh, yes "Mr. Uh". I actually DO understand Chrome's memory usage, I actually HAVE looked at the memory footprint of 3 other browsers (with the exact same sites loaded), and I'm sure unlike you, I've used all 4 browsers for an extensive period of time... giving Chrome numerous shots at not sucking. On various systems even, and OS's Mr. "Uh XP". But due to the FACT that it hogged more resources than the other browsers, suck it definitely does.

Sorry if the conclusion that "Google Chrome sucks" offends the very core of your Googley being.

[lilylee86]

09:38 PM on 02/15/2011

Google is so great!
---Joyfax Server---

[jo smith456]

07:06 PM on 02/15/2011

OMG. ANOTHER FORM OF INTERNET CENSORSHIP.

[wanderingArtist3211]

12:21 PM on 02/16/2011

haha.

[TheMilesHome]

05:47 PM on 02/15/2011

At first I thought, not really into anything that takes things away from my viewing, then I thought...

A FOX-less Internet!

And I smiled.

[hypnotoad72]

05:39 PM on 02/15/2011

Are the settings stores as cookies, on google's browser and tagged in their database with a key identifier, or other means?

[Rich Phitzwell]

05:14 PM on 02/15/2011

My fear is a 4chan attack against a legitimate site. As long as there is a way to quickly resolve a 4chan type of attack then kudos.

[steve11407]

04:04 PM on 02/15/2011

http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/scraper.htm

[DurantImboden]

02:41 PM on 02/15/2011

The extension is a nice idea, but it doesn't solve the real problem facing Google and other search engines: How to distinguish between real pages and junk pages on largely legitimate sites.
The Huffington Post is a case in point: Some of its pages contain useful coverage and analysis, while other pages are just teasers that point to content on third-party sites.
Template-based, keyword-driven corporate sites like TripAdvisor, CNet, and ZDnet offer the same dilemma: Many of their pages are little more than placeholders or advertising, but the sites offer enough useful pages to discourage most users from blocking their domains.

[AP209]

02:08 PM on 02/15/2011

Another reason why I love Google...

[ValdaDeDieu]

01:21 PM on 02/15/2011

I think it's an excellent idea, giving people the tools to themselves be the guard against the content they do not wish to see. Again, Google comes up with a user-friendly, original solution. Notice how little fanfare it gets; if they had messed up somehow it would be all over cyberspace.