# Search Engines and Highlighting
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-engines-and-highlighting/366685
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 31, 2006, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-engines-and-highlighting/366685 "2006-07-31T10:57:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2006, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-engines-and-highlighting/366685/1 "2006-07-31T10:57:07Z")
I use Google most of the time if I want to source information. No surprises there.
I guess it would be problematic for Google to highlight the search criteria when displaying the resultant pages, otherwise the company (and other search engine developers) would already have implemented such a feature.
What _are_ the problems involved in so doing?
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### Author:  [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2006, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-engines-and-highlighting/366685/2 "2006-07-31T12:10:54Z")
Try using the [Maxthon](http://www.maxthon.com/) browser. Searches can be made in any or all of several search engines including the default Google and all the results are highlighted by default, eatch term in a different colour.
Not a bad browser either, lots of nice little tools with it.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2006, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-engines-and-highlighting/366685/3 "2006-07-31T13:33:21Z")
> [@Chez Guevara](#):
>
> I guess it would be problematic for Google to highlight the search criteria when displaying the resultant pages, otherwise the company (and other search engine developers) would already have implemented such a feature.
They already have. Highlighting search terms is a feature of the [Google Toolbar](http://toolbar.google.com/T4/?promo=mor-tb-en). It has other great utilites like spell check also.
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### Author:  [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-engines-and-highlighting/366685/4 "2006-07-31T13:51:09Z")
Thanks. I feel stupid now.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2006, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-engines-and-highlighting/366685/5 "2006-07-31T14:02:40Z")
> [@Chez Guevara](#):
>
> What _are_ the problems involved in so doing?
The simple reason is that Google only provides _links_. When you click on one of the search results, you leave Google and end up in another web site. Google has no control over how that web site is displayed on your computer.
That is, unless Google has some way of telling your browser: “When you go to the next web site, highlight these words,” and your browser can understand such directions. Which is what Google Toolbar does.
Also, if you go to the cached page (i.e. click on “cached” in the Google result), Google displays a copy of the web page stored in Google’s archives. So it can, and does, highlight the search terms.