Google is adding a feature to its search engine that lets users block out all links from specific domains in their query results.
After a user clicks on a search result link and comes back to Google, the user will see a link below the result that keeps all pages from that domain out of future results.
“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,” wrote Google Search Quality Engineers Amay Champaneria and Beverly Yang in a blog post on Thursday.
While this feature can be used by anyone, Google will only be able to store the blocked domains for users who log into their Google accounts and confirm their blocks.
When a user runs a query and the results would have contained domains the user has blocked, Google will display an alert that says that a number of domains have been hidden and offers the option of displaying them.
Users will also have a chance to review and manage their list of blocked domains in their Google Account search preferences.
Google is also considering factoring blocks into its search results ranking process, so that a domain that has been blocked a significant number of times may see its search relevance reduced in general.
The feature is being rolled out on Thursday and Friday in English. Initially, it will appear only on these browsers: version 9 and up of Chrome, version 8 and up for IE, and version 3.5 and up of Firefox. More languages and browsers will be added later.