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    Google SearchWiki To Get Off Button, Might Get Used As Ranking Signal

    TechCrunch has coverage of Google’s Marissa Mayer talk at Le Web conference in Paris, France. In that talk, Mayer said SearchWiki will gain an option to let users turn it off and reiterated statements that Google’s previously made, that SearchWiki data might be used in the future to help rank ordinary search results. After SearchWiki […]

    TechCrunch has coverage of Google’s Marissa Mayer talk at Le Web conference in Paris, France. In that talk, Mayer said SearchWiki will gain an option to let users turn it off and reiterated statements that Google’s previously made, that SearchWiki data might be used in the future to help rank ordinary search results.

    After SearchWiki launched, a number of bloggers including TechCrunch were vocal in wanting a way to turn the feature off, since once it is enabled, there is no removing it. However, Google stuck to its guns that an opt-out wouldn’t be offered any time soon. Now that’s changed. Mayer promised to add a way to turn off SearchWiki within the first quarter of next year.

    As for ranking, at launch Google said to Search Engine Land and others that SearchWiki might get used to influence rankings in the future, even though it currently is not.

    Mayer explained that if “thousands of people” would remove a result from a search results page, then it might make sense to remove the page from everyone’s results. TechCrunch promised to post a video of the interview with Marissa later, so check the site later for her exact words.


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    About the Author

    Barry Schwartz

    Barry Schwartz

    Barry Schwartz is a technologist and a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics.

    In 2019, Barry was awarded the Outstanding Community Services Award from Search Engine Land, in 2018 he was awarded the US Search Awards the "US Search Personality Of The Year," you can learn more over here and in 2023 he was listed as a top 50 most influential PPCer by Marketing O'Clock.

    Barry can be followed on X here and you can learn more about Barry Schwartz over here or on his personal site.