New Google Feature Could Steal Some of Bing's Travel Thunder

By Chris Crum

Google has launched a new "Translated Search" tool as one of the search engines search options. Google's search options can currently be accessed by clicking "show options" on any results page, once a search has been performed (although you may not even have to do that soon). The idea is that searchers can more easily find and read content written in other languages.


Google has offered a similar feature in Google Translate, for quite some time, but this brings it right to the searcher's realm of familiarity. Let's face it. Most Google users probably don't even know Google Translate exists, and if they do, it may not occur to them to use it as a means for searching for content.


"Now, when you search on Google for something in your own language, you can use this tool to search the web in another language," says Google. "Click 'Show Options' at the top of the search results page and select 'Translated search' to try it out. We'll algorithmically select the best language(s) to translate your search query into and then return you translated results from those pages. We'll even display results from multiple languages."


"For example, if you search for [restaurant reviews antwerp] while on vacation in Belgium and want to find more reviews or review sites beyond those that are just available in English, select "Translate search" in the 'Show Options' panel," the company adds. "We'll automatically select French and Dutch (the languages spoken in Belgium), translate your query into these languages and then translate the results back into English for you to read. If you’d like to search specific languages, just modify the languages in the panel above the results. You can display results for up to five languages at once and select from 51 languages to search."

If Google moves forward with the SERP redesign that it has been testing, this feature could have an impact on Bing usage for all things travel. The Translated Search feature obviously has purpose for other kinds of searches, but the example above makes a really good case for using it while traveling to other countries.


Google is in the process of rolling the feature out, so it is possible that you do not have it available yet, but you should very soon from the sound of it.

Author: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/12/04/new-google-feature-could-steal-some-of-bings-travel-thunder