Google integrates virtual keyboard into Search

Google’s taken strides to make their search engine easier to use for non-English searches.

Where it was once very difficult to perform searches in non-Roman script without a specialized keyboard, now it is relatively simple. Google rolled out language-specific virtual keyboards in 35 languages, from Albanian to Uzbek. This move, it is hoped, will help make Google easier to use for the six billion people in the world that don’t speak English.

While this seems like a small step, this could actually be a boon for Google.

Google’s had some difficulty gaining traction in certain non-English markets. While Google’s clearly got the best algorithm for searching, they often face local competition from better entrenched competitors in the non-English world.

By providing the virtual keyboard, which is a feature that will likely appeal to expats and others who’ve been forced to use an English-language keyboard, they hope to remedy this. This provides some users a useful reason to switch from their local alternatives and start using Google.