Google Search Results Added With More Info About The Site

At some point, everyone has searched Google looking for information on a subject. Typically, search results bring up results from major retailer websites, national newspapers, and others that are well known. Search results also tend to bring up information from other available sites that may be new to users conducting the search. Google says that users can use the search engine itself for additional research about those unknown websites.

However, the search giant says that it is working on a new way to help users find more information about unknown websites without conducting another search. Google has started adding a menu icon users can tap on to learn more about the result and where the data is coming from. The additional context is meant to help users make informed decisions about sites they may want to visit and results that might be the most useful to them.

The menu icon is three dots to the right of the website URL that can be clicked and opens a window that gives more details about the website. When the new icon is available, a description of the website from Wikipedia can be viewed. Google says that Wikipedia provides free and reliable information on tens of millions of websites on the Internet.

Reliable and Wikipedia don't always go together in the same sentence. Wikipedia has an open editing model allowing global volunteers to add content to the descriptions to keep them up-to-date and accurate. The new context could be particularly helpful when users search for information on medical conditions by pointing out things like if the website is a peer-reviewed medical journal.

If the website doesn't have a Wikipedia description, users will see additional context that is available, like when Google first indexed the website. When viewing other content like job listings or local businesses, users will see a description of how Google sources information from sites on the web or from businesses themselves presented in a helpful format.