• Search Engine Land
  • Sections
    • SEO
    • SEM
    • Local
    • Retail
    • Google
    • Bing
    • Social
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • Live
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Search Engine Land

Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • More
  • Newsletters
  • Home
SEO

A Year Later, Google’s Block Sites Feature Remains Blocked

In 2011, Google rolled out a feature allowing searchers to block web sites they don’t like from appearing in its search results, which drew great attention. That got dropped last year, when Search Plus Your World was launched last January. A year later, Google says there are no firm plans for it to return. Google’s […]

Danny Sullivan on January 25, 2013 at 1:11 pm
  • More

In 2011, Google rolled out a feature allowing searchers to block web sites they don’t like from appearing in its search results, which drew great attention. That got dropped last year, when Search Plus Your World was launched last January. A year later, Google says there are no firm plans for it to return.

Google’s Blocked Sites Feature

The block feature, which was released in March 2011, placed a small “block” link next to any result in Google’s listings:

Google blocked results

Clicking on that link prevented any pages from that web site from appearing again in your results at Google.

At the time, Google said it was adding the feature to give searchers more control:

We’re adding this feature because we believe giving you control over the results you find will provide an even more personalized and enjoyable experience on Google.

Blocked Sites Goes Missing; No Plans For Return

That control was lost when Google’s “Search Plus Your World” super-personalized search results rolled out last year. The block link went missing. When asked why, Google initially said it was in the process of restoring the feature but then later said “it might take some time.”

Checking back this week, Google now says there’s no time frame at all for when or if it will be restored:

We don’t have firm plans on that feature, so nothing really concrete to share about where that’s going. But if people want to block sites, we’d recommend this Chrome extension from Google:

It should provide a lot of what people are looking for (though it doesn’t sync across all computers and only works on Chrome). People seem to like it — it has over 176K users.

Blocking Via Chrome Works; Managed Blocked Sites Page Doesn’t

The blocking tool for Chrome was the predecessor to the blocking option within Google’s results themselves. It was launched in February 2011 and remains an option, as Google notes. It’s just not as easy an option.

Some places like LifeHacker and Deadspin have noted an alternative way to block without using the Chrome extension. This is by accessing the Google “Managed Blocked Sites” page. Using the page, you can enter the sites you want to block:

Manage Blocked Sites

That sounds promising for those who don’t use Chrome, but my testing shows it doesn’t work. You can add a site, but that doesn’t block it from your results.

You can learn a bit more about how that page is supposed to work on Google’s help page about the blocked sites feature, which also suggests that blocked links still appear in Google’s results.

Related Articles

  • Google SearchWiki Launches, Lets You Build Your Own Search Results Page
  • New: Block Sites From Google Results Using Chrome’s “Personal Blocklist”
  • New: Google Lets You Block Any Site From Search Results
  • Google’s Results Get More Personal With “Search Plus Your World”
  • Google: Ability To Block Sites From Search Results Will Return, But When?


About The Author

Danny Sullivan
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Related Topics

Channel: SEOFeatures: AnalysisGoogle: Search CustomizationGoogle: Web Search

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Lorem ipsum doler this is promo text about SMX events.

February 23, 2021: SMX Report

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

October 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

December 17, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges. Our next conference will be held:

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • The State of Local Marketing Report 2020-2021
  • Quality CRM Data: The Key to Delivering Great Customer Experiences
  • How the Microsoft Search Network Can Maximize Your Search Campaigns
  • The Marketer’s Playbook for Customer Acquisition
  • How To Optimize SEO With UGC
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
  • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
  • Meet BIMI: The brand-boosting email security marketers must have for 2021
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

h
Receive daily search news and analysis.
Search Engine Land
Download the Search Engine Land App on iTunes Download the Search Engine Land App on Google Play

Channels

  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social

Our Events

  • SMX
  • MarTech

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Search Marketing Expo
  • MarTech Conference

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Connect With Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Youtube
  • iOS App
  • Google Play

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok