While they haven’t dominated the discussion like they did last year, Google is quietly making improvements and offering new features to their search presence.
One such addition has to do with movies and the showtimes associated with them. Google users can now search for movie information, including showtimes, by simply entering a movie-related query. Queries can be accomplished by typing in a number of requests:
Google+Search”>movie: sci-fi
This query will give you information about science fiction-related movies, complete with reviews. This technique can also be used to find out the name of movie you may have forgotten, like so:
movie: girl gets possessed
This query will return information about “The Exorcist” and any other possession-related movies.
Another use for Google’s movie information search is finding showtimes for your area. By typing the word “movie” followed by your geographical information (zip-code, location), and Google will return relevant theatre information and showtimes for the area:
movie: 40513
movie: Lexington, KY
According to Google’s blog, this service is also available on Google Local and their mobile phone search service, Google SMS. Google’s movie search offers users a comprehensive resource for showtimes and those looking for general movie information. Judging by the quality of the results for the queries above, I would certainly recommend using it.
However, I am curious as to whether or not Google will feature movie images and posters from related queries. Currently, it does not. However, some of the movie result pages feature AdWords ads, giving advertisers more real estate to show their ads on.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest search news.
