Not familiar with Google’s OneBox, Plus Box or direct answers? See our Meet The Google OneBox, Plus Box, Direct Answers & The 10-Pack article that explains them all, complete with illustrations.

The Full March Madness Bracket Shows In Google Search Results

Mar 19, 2013 at 7:56pm ET by Matt McGee

I suspect that most college basketball fans will be following the NCAA College Basketball Tournament on TV and via their favorite bracket contest website, but they could follow it via a simple Google search, too, if they want. As Google's Dan Vanderkam shared this afternoon on Twitter, certain college hoops-related searches are now showing the entire NCAA tournament brackets. You can see it via searches like [march madness], [ncaa bracket] and even just [bracket]. By default, it shows eight games from round one this week ... err, "round two" by the NCAA's weird current system ... [...]

Google Fixes Definition URLs, Makes Them Clickable Links

Jan 8, 2013 at 9:05am ET by Danny Sullivan

When Google introduced a new format last month for the definitions it sometimes shows at the top of its search results, something was missing. The source URL wasn't a clickable link. That's now been fixed. Here's an example, the definition box that Google shows for a "define speed of light" search: The URL shown under the definition previously wasn't clickable. Instead, the only way to click through to the source of the definition was to use the smaller "Source" link at the very bottom of the box. Reader Martin Panayotov pointed this out to us at the end of December. We checked [...]

Google Updates OneBox Results Design To Match Mobile Interface

Dec 5, 2012 at 5:19pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google announced they have updated their OneBox results, also known as quick answer results, to match the mobile and tablet designs they released back in August. The new results are cleaner, take up more space, but also are more interactive. For example, here is the stock quote for GOOG and the chart on the search results page is interactive: All the OneBox result designs were updated today. They include definitions, currencies, flight information and more: Other results include unit conversion, holidays, sunrise times, weather results, time conversions and much more. [...]

Google Calculator Gets A Major Upgrade

Jul 26, 2012 at 9:05am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google's calculator results has just got a major upgrade to the answers provided and the user interface. Now when you search Google for a math answer, Google will not only show you the answer but also give you a new interface for the answer, including a full size 34-button scientific calculator. Here is a screen shot: So not only do you get the answer quickly, you can now make additional calculations on the virtual scientific calculator. In addition, when you search for conversion related queries, such as [100 feet to inches] Google will give you a new user interface for that as w [...]

Google Graphical Calculator Now 3D & Animated

Mar 30, 2012 at 1:30pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google has quietly expanded the graphical calculator feature in Google's search results to be 3D and animated. Now if you search for certain math equations, the graphical display will be 3D and animated. Google shared this news less than an hour ago on their Google+ page and math junkies (mostly Googlers) are eating it up. This does one-up WolframAlpha's graphic calculator by making the free graphs animated. I believe the paid version does offer animated graphs. Here is a video: Postscript: Google has announced this on their blog a couple hours later: Just type any real [...]

Google Adds Graphical Math Calculator To Search Results

Dec 5, 2011 at 2:58pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google announced their answer to Wolfram Alpha's advanced math skills with math graphing functionality on Google search results. All you need to do is type basic and complex math functions into the Google search box and Google will return neat graphics. From basic charts for sin(x) to more complex graphs for x/2, (x/2)^2, ln(x), cos(pi*x/5). Of course, Google gets their 'geek on' by showing off their math skills: Did I mention you can zoom into these charts? This is Google's graphical calculator, right on the search page. [...]

Official: Google’s New Travel Search OneBox

May 27, 2011 at 12:30pm ET by Barry Schwartz

As we expected, Google officially announced the launch of their new flight onebox. The new travel onebox will show up when you search for flight related keywords with destinations. For example, [flights from new york to san francisco] or [flights from new york or [flights to new york]. They all work to five you an expandable box of flight options from or to a location. Google is not currently using the search technology from the ITA acquisition but implied the ITA software may be used in future versions of flight search. This is currently available in 10 languages: English, Fr [...]

Google Tests New Travel Search OneBox

May 24, 2011 at 9:18am ET by Barry Schwartz

SEOGadget noticed Google testing a new travel search OneBox interface. I suspect this is an early sign of the Google ITA integration, where Google purchased ITA, a travel software company. A typical Google travel search OneBox looks like this: The new travel OneBox offers a more detailed box of information with departing cities, airlines and prices: Clicking on the plus sign will extend the one box to show you additional departing cities, airlines and prices: I personally cannot replicate it but let me share the screen shots from SEOGadget's blog. Postscript: Goog [...]

Google Adds Zip Code Outlines To Map One Box

May 18, 2011 at 9:35am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google has added a new feature to the maps one box on the search results. If you search for a zip code or postal code, Google will display a map with an outline around the area of that zip code or postal code. This feature does not currently work on Google Maps itself but does work when you search Google web search for a zip code such as [10010], which is in Manhattan, New York. It also works for postal codes in London and other locations. Here are some pictures: Hat Tip to James Carswell for spotting this. Related Stories: Google "Plus Box" Puts Maps In Search Res [...]

What Time Is The Royal Wedding? Google Tells You With Special Box

Apr 28, 2011 at 6:58pm ET by Danny Sullivan

Royal Wedding madness had descended upon Google. Do a search for royal wedding, and you'll be treated to a special box telling you the time it happens in your location. The image above shows the box, with the time of 3am Pacific Time tomorrow, because that's the time zone I'm in. The box is actually pretty helpful for those around the world who plan to tune in but aren't certain what time the wedding happens (it happens tomorrow, April 29 at 11am British Time). What Time? What Time! Checking Google Insights For Search, I can see that indeed, many people must be wondering about when the [...]

Google Goes Beyond Answers, Starts Guessing Release Dates

Mar 18, 2011 at 4:55pm ET by Matt McGee

Google can answer a lot of searches without needing to send you to another web site. If you're looking for weather, sports scores or local movie schedules, Google probably has a "one box" for you. As Engadget noticed today, Google has added a one box even when it only has a "best guess" at the answer to your search. Searches for movie and video game release dates are now showing what Google thinks is the best answer based on info that it finds on various websites. As you can see in the image above, just use the name of the movie or game and add "release date" to the query to get sear [...]

Google Adds Snow Conditions & Interaction Mobile Weather Results

Jan 30, 2011 at 8:27pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google announced two winter features for the Google search results. The first one is a live snapshot of the snow conditions in a particular area. The second is a special new mobile version of weather, which is interaction. Live Snow Conditions: Google now shows you live snow results on the search results for your favorite ski resorts. Google said they partnered with OnTheSnow.com and SkiReport.com to enable special search snippets for those two sites. Here is a picture of the special snippets, I should note, I personally do not see them live yet. Interaction Mobile Weather Res [...]

Google Now With Real Time NHL Hockey Scores

Nov 15, 2010 at 8:46am ET by Barry Schwartz

The Google Blog announced over the weekend that Google partnered with the National Hockey Leagues's NHL.com to get real time hockey scores on Google. You can try this yourself for searching on [NHL] or your favorite team while the teams are on the ice. You will notice real-time scores, schedules and team standings plus easy access to game previews, live streams, recaps and video highlights. What is interesting is that these are not a one box result, instead they are enhanced search results. The result is much richer than a standard rich snippet result. Here is a picture of the N [...]

Google Adds Emergency Help To Search Results In 13 Countries

Nov 11, 2010 at 5:32pm ET by Matt McGee

Expanding on something it's been doing in the U.S. since last year, Google is now showing emergency information at the top of the search results in 13 countries. This means that searchers who type in queries that are the equivalent of English phrases like "poison control" and "emergency" will see special information above the search results. Here are two examples from Google's blog post: Google says the new results are available in these countries: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom [...]

Google Buys Metaweb To Bolster Answers, Google Squared & Rich Snippets

Jul 16, 2010 at 2:56pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google announced they have acquired Metaweb. Metaweb is a search company that figures out entities and not just words. I have a video from the company explaining exactly what that means. In short, Google seems to want to explore and leverage Metaweb's technology to bolster their rich snippet initiative and Google Squared project. As you now know, Google Squared powers Google's quick answers. Google said this acquisition will help them "improve search and make the web richer and more meaningful for everyone." Here is how Google explains future improvements due to Metaweb: Type [bar [...]

Google Squared Answers Now On Google Mobile Results

Jun 14, 2010 at 9:14am ET by Barry Schwartz

The Google Mobile Blog announced that Google Squared which now helps power answers on Google.com is now powering some answers on Google Mobile Search. You can see this yourself by visiting google.com on your iPhone, Palm WebOS or Android-powered device in English. Here is an example on [star wars release date: When you tap on "show sources," you will see: [...]

Search Engines Get World Cup Fever (Some More Than Others)

Jun 10, 2010 at 6:07pm ET by Matt McGee

The biggest sporting event in the world is underway and, if you're unable to follow along on TV, there's plenty of coverage of it online -- including all of the major search engines and Twitter. Here's a look at what you'll find on the web if you're looking for a football/soccer fix. Google Google seems to have been the last to rollout its World Cup information. Earlier today, I wasn't seeing anything special for searches like world cup schedule, but Google is now showing a list of upcoming matches. Still, Google is offering far less than Yahoo and Bing (see below) when it comes t [...]

Google Squared Powers Answer Sources & Something Different Refinements

May 12, 2010 at 1:28pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Did you know that Google Squared turned one today? Google noted this fact today and also noted the various web search features Google Squared powers. Currently, Google Squared powers the "sources" displayed for the "best answers" one box and it also powers the new "something different" refinements on the new Google design. For example, a search on [iron man 2 release date] returns a one box with an answer. Now, Google shows a "sources" link that can be expanded. This little feature is powered from the year-old Google Square. Here is a picture: Also, if you do a search on [zebra] [...]

Google Trying To Help Suicidal Searchers

Apr 5, 2010 at 2:35am ET by Matt McGee

In response to a mom's suggestion, Google has tweaked its search results to offer help for searchers in dire circumstances. Do a search for [ways to commit suicide], and you'll see an emergency phone number listed above the regular search results. Since last Wednesday, the New York Times reports, Google has been showing the toll-free number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for this query. It also shows up for "how to commit suicide," but not for "should i commit suicide." These queries are cases where Google's algorithm may be too good; in the image above, the first thre [...]

Super Bowl 2010 Winners: Google, Yahoo & Bing Are Ready

Feb 5, 2010 at 7:37pm ET by Matt McGee

Super Bowl XLIV is two days away, and even though it's always one of the most-watched TV events of the year, the major search engines are also ready for anyone searching for the latest news and information. All three already have Super Bowl shortcuts/oneboxes in place. Google Yahoo Bing No doubt each search engine will keep those updated all weekend long, and will show the game score as it happens on Sunday. Bing and Yahoo also shared some info about what fans have been searching for this week in the lead up to Sunday's game. Bing says that the Dallas Cowboys were th [...]

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