Google dealt another blow to [sleazy] Web site owners Thursday when it gave users the option to block certain domains from search results.

Going forward, if you conduct a Google.com search, click on a link, but then return to Google, the search giant will include a “Block all xyx.com results” link underneath the site you just clicked. Once clicked, Google will display a message that says, “We will not show you results from xyz.com again” with the option to undo or manage blocked sites.

“Once you’ve blocked a domain, you won’t see it in your future search results,” Google said in a blog post, though “the next time you’re searching and a blocked page would have appeared, you’ll see a message telling you results have been blocked, making it easy to manage your personal list of blocked sites…”

Blocked sites will be tied to your Google Account, so you have to be signed in to confirm a block…

Google said Thursday that it is “not currently using the domains people block as a signal in ranking, [but] we’ll look at the data and see whether it would be useful as we continue to evaluate and improve our search results in the future.”

Bravo! Though I expect usage to be broadly defined, e.g., political, social, emotional – the opportunity to block spam sites warms the cockles of my heart. That includes otherwise potentially useful sites that work hard at thwarting pop-up blockers. 🙂

Just tried to use it; but, it’s not working in Safari, yet. Tried it in FireFox – and the result is up top.