Google Drops Instant Previews Over Low Usage

Apr 25, 2013 - 9:08 am 77 by
Filed Under Google

Google Instant PreviewsGoogle has officially dropped the Instant Previews from the search results due to "very low usage" by searchers.

Instant Previews launched in November 2010 and was tested with AdWords Instant Previews and even Sitelinks Instant Previews - heck, Google even made a feature in Webmaster tools to preview instant previews.

Now, Google has dropped the feature.

Google's Jessica said they removed it to "very low usage" and said removing it will streamline searches. She explained in the Google Web Search Help forums:

As we've streamlined the results page, we've had to remove certain features, such as Instant Previews.

Instant previews saw very low usage by our users, and we've decided to focus on streamlining the page to benefit more users.

Like with any feature Google removes, it upsets users. So there are a bunch of people not happy.

With this change, Google has changed how you access the "cached" page and how you share results. There is now a down green arrow that contains the "cached" link and "similar" link, when applicable and if you are logged in, it will also show a "share" link to share the result on Google+.

Google Green Arrow Down

Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Maps

Google Business Profile Performance Report Missing Oct 14 - 16 Call Data

Oct 23, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Console Performance Report Stuck At Sunday October 19

Oct 23, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Ads

Google Ads (Formerly AdWords) Launched 25 Years Ago

Oct 23, 2025 - 7:11 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: October 22, 2025

Oct 22, 2025 - 10:00 am
Other Search Engines

OpenAI Launches Browser - ChatGPT Atlas With Search Powered By Google

Oct 22, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Maps

Google AI Mode Tests Different Colored Map Pins

Oct 22, 2025 - 7:41 am
 
Previous Story: Google Will Send Notifications To WWW & Non-WWW Webmaster Tools Accounts