Google has just about every search option you could want in a search engine except one: the ability to see thumbnails of pages it returns in search results. Without being able to see thumbnails, it can be hard for you to decide at a glance which search result is most relevant.

Free Chrome extension SearchPreview for Google does what Google doesn't: It adds those thumbnails. For every search result, you'll see a thumbnail directly to the left of the result itself. That way, you'll find it easier to decide which sites to visit.

SearchPreview for Google doesn't conflict with the new Google feature that shows thumbnails of a result when you hover your mouse over the magnifying glass to the right of each search result. They work well together: SearchPreview shows you thumbnails of all results, while Google's built-in feature lets you see a more detailed thumbnail of any individual result.

Using SearchPreview for Google is simplicity itself: Install the extension into Chrome, do a search, and you'll see thumbnails. There's nothing else you need to do. The one drawback to the extension is the lack of customization. It would be useful, for example, to be able to change the size of the thumbnails. But that's a small drawback. Other than that, you'll find SearchPreview for Google a useful Chrome extension. Note that there's also a version of it that works as a Firefox add-on.

Note: This link takes you to the add-ons page at Google, where you can automatically install the file into your Chrome browser.

--Preston Gralla