Google search rolls out 'instant' site previews

Google has rolled out a new tool onto its web-dominating search engine that lets you preview sites before actually visting them.

Using these "Instant Previews," netizens are "about 5% more likely to be satisfied with the results they click," according to Google tests. Such tests were spotted in the wild early last month. "Instant Previews provides a graphic overview of a search result and highlights the most relevant sections, making finding the right page as quick and easy as flipping through a magazine," the company said in a Tuesday morning blog post.

To preview a page, you click on a small magnifying glass icon that appears beside search result. This launches an image of the page on the right-hand-side of Google's results page. Within this preview, relevant text may be highlighted and magnified. If you then hover your cursor over any other search result, you can preview those as well.

You can also launch previews via your keyboard, navigating to a particular search result and then hitting the right arrow key. You can then preview additional results as you visit them via the down and up arrow keys.

Google says the tool will make it easier and faster to find what you're looking for. But a byproduct of the service is that you spend more time on Google and less time actually visiting other sites.

The new tool is being pushed out across the Googlenet now, and it should be available in all languages in the "next few days." If you don't yet see it, you can try it here. ®