Google is the most used search engine in the world receiving millions of searches per day.
Though Google uses special algorithm to filter spam websites, sometimes useless or unwanted websites do manage to show up in the search results.
How do you prevent such unwanted websites from displaying in your search results. Google provides you better steps in blocking such sites.
#1: Block websites in Google Chrome Browser
With the help of Chrome add-on “personal block list”, you can block any website from your Google search results. Follow these simple steps.
Step 1: Install Chrome add-on “personal block list”
Step 2: Open Google Search, Enter the website address on your search box and Search. A block link appears beside the website in the search results. Just click on that, to block the website from your Google search results forever.
How does this add-on work?
Blocking certain websites using this add-on, does not actually stop those websites from getting served in search results. Google uses CSS to hide blocked websites from search results.
We do have a limitation with this approach as this works only in Google Chrome browser.
#2: Block websites using Google Account
Google offers web dashboard for blocking spam websites in Google Search Results. You need to login with your Google account to access this dashboard. In this, you have to manually add one URL address at a time that you wish to block. It allows you to add 500 different websites to your list. Google will not show the pages from this blocked list in search results when you are signed in with your Google account. You can unblock the URL anytime when you change your mind later.
Note: This feature no longer seems to work. But the dashboard page is still available. Google says that this could be a temporary issue and that people are working to re-enable this feature.
#3: Block websites using Google’s Custom Search Engine (CSE):
Using Google’s Custom Search Engine, you can create a “Global Filter” for your Google search results which works in all the browsers including mobile devices.
Google Custom Search is generally used to add a search box in websites that helps users to search within that website and not entire internet.
Here is a very simple method to quickly set up a custom search, that uses Google’s Custom Search Engine to search entire internet excluding blocked sites.
Step 1: Create a Custom Search Engine. << Click Here >>
Login with your Google Account. Enter Name and Description. In “Sites to Search”, enter all popular TLDs one per line.
For example:
*.com
*.co.in
*.net
*.in
*.org
Step 2: Click “Next” to save the changes. You can test your search in this screen or later. Click “Next” again.
Under “Next Steps”, click the link against “Include More Sites”. Click “Exclude Sites”. Click “Exclude Sites in Bulk”. Enter all the websites or domains that you wish to block.
Step 3: Your custom search will now search only websites with the TLDs that you have given during creating the search. In order to search all known TLDs, click on “Basics” in control panel. Under “Search Preferences”, select “Search the entire web but emphasize included sites” and save changes.
Your new custom google search is ready! To access this search, Go to “Overview” and click on the custom search engine title.