Few search engines beat Google when it comes to finding accurate relevant results. But Google has been largely lost at sea in the real-time search chatter started by Twitter and picked up by Microsoft Bing and real-time search startups Collecta, CrowdEye, OneRiot and others.

That changed Sept. 28 when Google began indexing its Hot Trends rising searches results in its regular Web research results. Forged in Google Trends' Labs, Hot Trends lists the 100 hottest searches on the Web at any given hour.

When users search Google and their query matches one of the top 100 fastest-rising search terms, Google will dump a Hot Trends graph at the bottom of page, detailing how popular the query is, how fast it's rising over time, and related queries.

I saw this Hot Trends graph when I searched Google for the query "sundown time," presumably hot for folks trying to figure out when Yom Kippur ended today.

Here is a Hot Trends result for "blue grotto," from the report that several ancient Roman statues might lie beneath the turquoise waters of the Blue Grotto on the island of Capri in southern Italy.

Google also said it pared the number of trends listed on the Google Hot Trends home page from 100 to 40. However, the Hot Trends graphs will show up at the bottom of search results pages for any of the queries that match the top 100. The new feature is available in the United States. and Japan.

"We hope it will help you keep up with everything there's to know about the latest trends online," Googlers wrote in a blog post. "No more being out of the loop at your office watercooler!"

I disagree. No one will see these Hot Trends graphs! One of the reasons Twitter's trending topics are so popular is that it puts them right on your home page:

Honestly, when was the last time you actually scrolled to the bottom of a results page after doing a search? I did -- tonight in testing this new feature. Before 10 minutes ago, I can't recall the last time I made it past the fifth or sixth result.

Maybe Google wants people to scroll down to the bottom to see more of its long-tail content, and therefore possibly view more ads. I don't know what the reason is.

Why not make Hot Trends more visible and put Hot Trends results up at the top of search results? If you want to catch peoples' attention to show them what's hot now, that's the way to do it.

Back to the Twitter comparison. Danny Sullivan scored a nice briefing on this Hot Trends integration on Google results. He asked if Twitter results or a real-time results column would be coming. He was told not yet. Sullivan noted:

To me, that means Twitter (and to a growing degree, Facebook) will remain a draw for searches where you are seeking immediate confirmation of an event that hasn't yet gotten news coverage ("Was that an earthquake? "Is the cable out in my area?").

Right on, Danny. By putting Hot Trends in search results, Google is getting in Twitter's ballpark, but it isn't yet on the same field. More on TechMeme here.