Google just announced another way it can personalize search results. Google is now letting users “star” search results they like, similar to the star feature used in other Google products, such as, Gmail, Reader and Google News.
When you star the results you like, you can get them at the top of your results the next time a search is similar to them.
“With stars, you can simply click the star marker on any search result or map and the next time you perform a search, that item will appear in a special list right at the top of your results when relevant,” the company explains. “That means if you star the official websites for your favorite football teams, you might see those results right at the top of your next search for [nfl].”
“The great thing about stars is that you don’t have to keep track of them,” the company continues. “You don’t even have to remember whether or not you starred something. Simply perform a search and you’ll rediscover your starred items right when you need them. Stars sync with your Google Bookmarks and the Google Toolbar, so you can always see your list of starred items in one place and easily organize them. Even beyond the results page, while browsing the web you can quickly click the star icon in Toolbar to create a bookmark, and those pages will start showing up in the new stars feature.”
This feature will replace Google’s existing SearchWiki feature, that didn’t really catch on at all. According to Google, people just didn’t care about rearranging the order of search results.