-
Improve Highlight Button
Users of the Google Toolbar may be familiar with the Highlight option, which highlights
all occurrences of the current search-word(s) in the current page. This handy feature
could be made more useful if it could highlight partial matches.
For example, if the search string "link button" was entered, in addition to highlighting
every occurance of both 'link' and 'button', Google would highlight occurances such
as 'links' or 'buttons'.
-
-
Figure: Google highlight option.
-
Watch a Thread
Google Groups is a service that allows you to browse, create and reply to newsgroup
postings.
This service would be greatly enhanced if it allowed the user to specify one or
more threads to be 'watched'. Whenever a thread changes, a message can be sent to
an email address provided by the user, which can detail not only the thread that
has changed, but where the changes have taken place (perhaps using highlighting).
-
-
Figure: Browsing Google Groups
-
Send error report about broken links
Wouldnt it be a great world if there were NO BAD links in the world? Well I have
a web site with a lot of links to other sites Google has this list in their database.
Google also have a database of all pages in the world. So Google could help with
the worlds broken links, by offering a service where they send a weekly email (the
web master) of links on your site that have gone bad.
-
Wildcard search
Google please support normal wildcards like:
-
-
Figure: Normal Google search
-
-
Figure: Google doesn't support wildcard search
Not this strange style:
-
-
Figure: Google supports synonym search using the symbol
-
Fix the Google API
As it stands, the results from the Google API do not closely match the results that
an end user would experience. The Google API should be using the same data source
as what a normal user would see. Alternatively, the API should be able to specify
which server it uses to return search results.
For example - the Google API code below only hits the SSW web site after searching
through 10 results (including several from Microsoft that aren't in the web search)
for the keyword "Exchange Reporter". In a web search the SSW web site comes first.
The two should be consistent. If the API is not accurate, then it is effectively useless
for gathering ranking statistics.
private DataSets.ResultHistoryDataset GetRanking(string searchValue)
{
// Create a Google Search object
GoogleSearchWebService.GoogleSearchService s = new GoogleSearchWebService.GoogleSearchService();
string key = "XXXXXXXX";
int maxResults = 10;
int rank = 0;
int positiveHitCount = 0;
int currentIndex = 0;
int page = 0;
// Invoke the search method
//Google.GoogleSearchResult r = s.doGoogleSearch(key , searchValue + " inurl:www.ssw.com.au",
for( page = 0; page < 3; page +=1)
{
GoogleSearchWebService.GoogleSearchResult r = s.doGoogleSearch(key , searchValue ,
(page * maxResults) + 1 , maxResults, true , "", false, "","","");
// Extract the estimated number of results for the search and display it
foreach (GoogleSearchWebService.ResultElement resultElement in r.resultElements)
{
currentIndex ++;
if (resultElement.URL.StartsWith("http://www.ssw.com.au"))
{
positiveHitCount ++;
if (rank == 0)
{
rank = currentIndex;
}
}
}
//int estResults = r.estimatedTotalResultsCount;
//this.label1.Text = Convert.ToString(estResults);
}
this.resultHistoryDataset1.ResultHistory.AddResultHistoryRow (searchValue, rank,positiveHitCount, maxResults, page , DateTime.Now.Date) ;
return this.resultHistoryDataset1;
Figure: Sample API code - this returns different results from a user performing a
web search
-
Get rid of the PageRank Bar and Fix the Duplicate Content Filter
Google is too easily manipulated. All you need to do these days is to create a site
and get as many inbound keyword text links as you can to get a high page rank with
the Google bar.
Take our site for an example, our website stays on topic as much as possible and
only links to websites that are relevant and decent. On the other hand, my competition
employs spam tactics "DELUXE", making it very easy to get links when you don't care
where they come from.
The result is that I slip a little further every month while my spam competition
maintains top positions.
Also many top position holders in my industry have multiple duplicated link pages.
Current Solution: I must link to spam to survive, risking my future when Google
picks this up.
My preferred solution: Google get rid of that dam green bar and sort out your duplicate
content filter!
-
Users should not have to deal with plurals (and especially apostrophes eg. xx vs xx's"
vs xxs)
I entered "Greg Low DMV", This what came back:
Where is the web cast?
Google result for "Greg
Low DMV site:microsoft.com" = 0 hits. (BAD -- find the plural)
Google result for "Greg
Low DMVS site:Microsoft.com"= the Webcast (SHOULD NOT NEED TO DO THIS)
Google result for "Greg
Low DMV's site:Microsoft.com" = 0 hits. (GOOD) (if you put an apostrophes
it should respect you are being exact)
if you search DMV -- it should find DMVs and DMV's
-
Subscribing to the Google Groups
Fox example, "microsoft.public.sqlserver.server" group.
Can you change the subject from
Subject: 41 new messages in 13 topics - abridged
to
Subject: microsoft.public.sqlserver.server
With proper subject , threading inside Outlook can work. Currently with changing
subjects every day breaks threading.
Rules to better email
for more info.
-
Suggest gmail to support "propose new time" requests which currently is not working.
-
-
Figure: Gmail need to be add support "Propose new time"
-
Gmail - Support pasting an image from a clipboard
Suggest gmail to support pasting an image from a clipboard, like the same suggestion for TFS.
-
-
-
Figure: Add a "Filter" text box on this menu