The Similar Pages link is interesting although not always tremendously useful. Clicking this link starts a new search for pages that somehow resemble the original search result. Sorry to be vague, but Google isn’t very talkative about its Similar Pages formula.

The results are interesting and more diverse than you might expect. You’d think the search would yield a narrowed set of results, but my experience is to the contrary. Search for Britney Spears, for example, and you get a solid set of results including fan sites. Click the Similar Pages link under britney spears.com, and you get a far-ranging assortment of pages, including unofficial fan pages and sites dedicated to other singers and bands.

Searching with Similar Pages is a bit of a crapshoot — or perhaps I should say it’s an adventure. Sometimes a pointless one. So when should you use Similar Pages? It’s useful to get a sense of the network lurking around a Web page. Part of what the engine does with Similar Pages is explore outgoing links from the target page. So, whenever you use Similar Pages, do so with an open mind.