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Google testing feature to show full recipes in search results
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Google testing feature to show full recipes in search results

It’s an experience many of us know all too well: Open a food blogger’s recipe only to scroll through a mountain of content you have no interest in to actually get to the ingredients and method. Google is currently testing a feature that could eliminate this step, although it is a result of the company’s own policies.

I noticed a new button on some recipe thumbnails called Quick View. This button displays the full recipe without leaving the search results page. During their testing, a search for “chocolate chip cookie recipe” revealed this Quick View button for the Preppy Kitchen site.

“We’re always experimenting with different ways to connect our users with high-quality, useful information,” Google representative Brianna Duff told Engadget about these Quick View recipes. “We’ve partnered with a limited number of creators to begin exploring new recipe experiences on search that are both useful for users and generate value for the web ecosystem. We have nothing to announce For now.” Although Google has signed agreements with participating bloggers, the company declined to reveal further details about the scope of these tests.

This is a real trap that Google has created when it comes to online recipes. Home cooks may find this quick view feature interesting because many food blogs feature their posts with photos and personal stories before sharing the recipe. But it was Google’s own rules that pushed bloggers to adopt this approach in the first place, with longer posts generally being indexed higher in search results and thus generating more traffic. (And no offense to food bloggers everywhere, but the only chocolate chip cookie recipe you need is the one on the back of the chocolate chip bag.)

While this recipe feature is just a first try, Google has rolled out other tools aimed at keeping users on its own web pages and platforms. Search is one of the latest (and ) ways the company is changing the rules of engagement for web content.