This is a query monitor tool for Google and Firefox. It allows you to keep tabs on queries you use often, displaying them automatically on top of the Google pages. Hence your favorite searches are always near, complete with number of results per query. When you don't want to look at them you just collapse the SERP Monitor and they are hidden.
Google SERP Monitor is a GreaseMonkey user script, based on Scholar Monitor, which -- again -- was based on Persistent Gmail Search. In this beta version, it is not much more than a "quick hack" of the Scholar Monitor.
A SERP is a "Search Engine Result Page". The SERP Monitor is is a very nifty little thing that tracks specific queries in the Google SERPs.
Google SERP Monitor allows a user to track the result count of predefined queries. The tracking happens automatically each time a Google page is visited with no extra page refresh and no extra load time.
If there are new results, the SERP Monitor shows a new! mark with the number of results per query above the SERPs (or above the search box, on the front page). Eg. if a user wants to monitor a site for the keyword "widget", (s)he can add the search "site:www.example.com widget" to SERP Monitor.
Actually it's pretty intuitive to use and not so easy to explain, so just go ahead and try it.
To keep track of new results, the user script uses cookies. For best results you should have cookies enabled, and you should keep cookies until they expire.
It's easy. Install the script. Then point your browser to Google, and modify the default searches and/or add your own.
Click "Edit monitor items" to set new searches up for tracking or change those you have already. Click "refresh" (rightmost circle icon) to refresh the numbers. This does not cause a page reload. Oh, and then you can click the little triangle to hide the SERP Monitor list of searches... and unhide it of course.
(reused from Scholar Monitor, which was reused from Persistent Searches to Gmail.)
Select "Tools" in the Firefox menu, then select "Manage User Scripts". In the box that opens, select SERP Monitor and click the large button at the bottom of the box titled "Uninstall". That's it.
This tool does not phone home. It sends your queries to Google, in exactly the same way as if you entered them in the search box - only, with this tool you don't have to do that. Information about your searches is stored by your own browser in cookies that reside on your own PC.
Note that this also means that once you have downloaded a version and installed it, you have no way of knowing if you are running the latest version or not (and neither have i). The only way to find out is to visit this page and compare version numbers.
2005-03-22: Version 0.9 BETA Rev. 2 (fixed alignment of right border of box)
2005-03-22: Version 0.9 BETA
To upgrade you need to visit this page, as there's no built in connection between the script and this site. This site does not know which version you are running (if any), so it is not possible to remote upgrade the SERP Monitor.
To upgrade you can simply install on top of the old version - UNLESS there's been a name change. Name changes include the version information, it's the whole string you see when you select "Manage User Scripts". Revisions are not part of the name.
If the name has changed you'll have to uninstall the earlier version first. Sofar there's been no name changes.
Script license: Creative Commons, credits appreciated (link to this page or site)
Last edited: 2020-03-16, 2005-03-22