Google Bolding On Synonyms For Web Searches

Aug 8, 2011 - 8:35 am 11 by
Filed Under Google

A WebmasterWorld thread reports Google bolding or highlighting words in the search results that are not actual words you searched for. Rather, Google will bold synonyms of the keywords you searched for.

Searching for [leather couches] will return Google bolding words like "sofa" as well. Here is a picture:

Google Bold Synonyms

Honestly, I really didn't think this was new Google behavior but the folks in the WebmasterWorld forum saying it is and sharing other search terms which trigger this.

In fact, searching for [couches] won't result in Google bolding "sofa" but searching for [leather couches] does. Why?

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: November 17, 2025

Nov 17, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Journey Aware Bidding Coming In 2026

Nov 17, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

Google Testing Old Search Design - Or Is It A Bug?

Nov 17, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google App Image Search: Get Started With A Few Topics

Nov 17, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google

When Google Search Snippet Description Go Wrong

Nov 17, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Ads

Google Adds Top Combinations To Combinations Report For PMax

Nov 17, 2025 - 7:11 am
 
Previous Story: Some ISPs Are Hijacking Searches For Profit