Google Drops Hyperlinks To Previews Of Google Alerts

Mar 16, 2011 - 9:05 am 0 by
Filed Under Google

Google Alerts LogoIt appears that Google has dropped a feature from the manage Google Alerts page.

In the past you were able to click on the search term in the manage alerts page to see what came up in Google for that alert. Now, the hyperlink is gone. That doesn't mean you can't preview alerts, you can do so on the main Google Alerts page but if you have dozens of alerts set up, it is no longer as easy as clicking on a hyperlink to preview the current state of that search result set.

Of course, for normal people who use this by receiving Google Alerts via email or RSS it is not an issue, but some people do not like to be feed alerts, but rather like to go fetch them. Well, RSS is kind of a fetch mode, as opposed to email but some people do not do RSS.

Here is a screen shot showing the hyperlinks to the search results on the keywords:

click for full size

Here is how it looks now:

click for full size

As you can see, the hyperlinks have been removed.

Googler Oli Gaymond said in a Google Web Search Help thread:

There are no plans at this time to revert to the previous style of clickable links. I'm keen to hear more about why you found having the links useful so that we can make sure we are moving forward in the right.

The change was made alongside some other ongoing work that is intended to simplify the management page.

The functionality you're looking for is still possible if you create RSS feeds with 'As it happens' frequency settings and then manage them through a site such as Google Reader.

Alternatively it is possible to visit Google Search and enter the queries you are looking for, then use the 'Latest' or 'Last 24 hours' date restrict on the left hand toolbar. This will provide you with a search restricted to the latest results and you can then bookmark the page so you can return to it later. If you create multiple bookmarks in your browser you will achieve the same effect as you were using the management page for previously.

Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help.

 

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