Google-search – Google Search results – old style

I found an elegant solution to this problem using Google Custom Search.

To see the result in action, go to this custom search engine.

To set up your own version, go to google.com/cse and:

1. click "create a custom search engine"

2. put whatever you want on the setup page, but use a nonexistent url for the "sites to search" box

3. click "next" twice (change the look if you like)

4. click on the link "change the basics" under "next steps"

5. at the bottom of the "basics" page, check "search the entire web but emphasize included sites"

6. uncheck "Show automatic thumbnail"

7. save changes

8. click on the name of your search engine at the top of the "basics" page to use it.

To use your search in a URL (to replace your existing search engine):

http://www.google.com/cse?cx=000628392187335527771:2-d3w-aefr4&q=searchterms

You'll need to replace the cx variable with the value from your own custom search engine and replace "searchterms" with %s or whatever you usually use in your URL to indicate keyword placement.

It had been gone in redesign few months before you asked this question and most probably you had enough time to assure yourself it won't return ever.

One mitigation would be adding those keywords from topic to search query text. The other could be limiting search down to particular publishing site with site:example.com/path stem, if you know that info in advance.