We’ve all been there: after reading a blog post that piques our interest about something there’s a level of curiosity and a need to learn and explore more.
Traditionally this involves opening a new tab, heading to Google, typing in a bunch of terms to refine the search, and scanning the results for an intended page. When we do this, here’s what’s going on:
- By searching with additional terms we’re attempting to add contextual understanding (by searching for “eclipse book twilight review” we’re helping Google know what we’re looking for)
- Scanning the results for specific pages is a filter used to target the search (a link to the NYT review is probably what we wanted rather than a site to buy the book)
That process generally works, but often requires some tweaking. Here’s another reason why SmartLinks are great: they contain SmartSearch. Say goodbye to tweaking.
SmartSearch? SmartSearch. SmartSearch brings contextual understanding and targeted search together to bring exceptional results a single click away.
For every category that we recognize we’ve researched a list of the best, most targeted sites and blogs and have created custom vertical search engines for each category using Google Custom Search.
So on a stock and finance blog, for example, clicking on the SmartSearch link within the SmartLink pane offers targeted, contextually correct results, returning links to analysis on the stock from leading stock and finance bloggers.
Here’s an example:
Over at MadStocks I see that Mathew’s shopping list includes VMW. I clicked on the SmartLink and then clicked on SmartSearch and found some great analysis on the stock. Targeted and contextual, automatic and instant. Nice.
