Google has finally started taking speed-testing seriously. According to information posted on Google’s support site, as well as a tweet circulating Twitter, it appears that Google is bringing internet speed testing directly to Google Search.
Searching “speed test” on Google has become a common practice for internet users looking to double check their speed. To take advantage of the common user behavior, Google appears to be working on its own internet speed test function right into search. This way, when someone types something like “check internet speed” into the search box, Google can do it for them.
This is similar to several other features like the Google dictionary. For example, when one Googles “define retrospect,” before any other website link, Google has a floating dictionary on that gives the meaning like in any other dictionary.
However, it may not be as easily accessible as the dictionary. The feature may be in response to Netflix’s new website ‘Fast.com’, which allows the user to check their internet speed by just punching in the URL.
It would be much more useful and simpler if Google just showed you speed results as soon as you completed your search without having to click on anything. Essentially like Fast.com, which is a minimalist tool. Google does warn the user that the internet speed test generally transfers ‘less than 40 MB’ of data, so maybe it is intended to be a data-saving tool for mobile users.
This test was first identified by a Twitter user Pete Meyers, who uploaded a screenshot of the same and gave a link to a Google support page that details this feature. The page reveals that Google relies on Measurement Lab to perform its tests.
Several bloggers across the globe have raised the question of reliability of a server sitting thousands of miles away to test the speed.
