Nov 7, 2011 at 2:52pm ET by Matt McGee

Google has confirmed that it's testing a new content module in its search results that's (currently) called "Sources." The module appears to have been spotted first by Cyrus Shepard, who shared screenshots of the new display including this one from a search for pop singer Rihanna. (You can click for a slightly larger version.) As you can see, the right column is widened to allow several pieces of background info to show -- things like biographical info from Wikipedia, her birthdate and other family information, plus links to songs and similar artists. A separate screenshot on a se [...]

VIDEO: Google’s “Do A Barrel Roll” Search Is Latest Easter Egg

Nov 3, 2011 at 4:04pm ET by Matt McGee

If you have vertigo, be careful with this one: Google's latest easter egg search result comes in the form of a nifty, spin-tastic search results page for the query do a barrel roll. When you do that search, Google listens and make the search results page do a barrel roll. Here's a video that we've posted on YouTube: If you're wondering "why?," well … we were, too. Here's the official word from a Google spokesperson: Today's fun query, 'do a barrel roll', was created by a Google software engineer with the primary goal of entertaining users -- while showcasing the power of CSS3, a p [...]

Google Tests New Drop Down Navigation Bar From Google + Logo

Oct 31, 2011 at 10:28am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google Operating System reports a finding by guao.hk where Google is testing a new top bar navigation bar that may replace the navigation bar we have today. As you can see, there is a little arrow down mark on the right of the Google + logo. Clicking on it drops down this black bar with the various Google logos. What you cannot see in this image, but in the images shared by guao.hk is the new sharing section of the bar on the top right. I am not sure if this interface is a test just for the Google + design or for the global Google top bar. I guess time will tell. I would th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: User Interface

Google Tests Tabbed Navigation Design For Tablets

Oct 27, 2011 at 10:05am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google Operating System blog reports Google search is testing a new design for tablets. The new design places the various search vertical options across the top instead of placing them in a drop down menu. The new interface also has a settings button to access advanced search and SafeSearch settings. In July, Google launched a new tablet design and now it appears Google will be launching yet another tweak to the design for tablet users. Here is a picture of the new design from the Google Operating System blog. Here is a picture of the current design: For more pictures, s [...]

Google News Moves Advanced Options To Search Bar; A Sign Of Things To Come?

Oct 21, 2011 at 7:12pm ET by Matt McGee

In what may be a sign of things to come across other Google properties, the advanced search search options in Google News have been moved away from their own page and placed right inside the main search bar. Here are before and after screenshots to show what I'm talking about. Before: After: There's a small triangle on the far right of the search bar and, when your mouse moves over it, that "Advanced news search" indicator appears. When you click on the triangle, a full set of advanced search options appears -- no need to click through to a separate page. As far as [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Google: News | Google: User Interface | Top News

Where Did Cached Pages Go On Google?

Oct 19, 2011 at 9:56am ET by Barry Schwartz

Since Google launched the new instant previews just about a month ago, the question we have seen come up from searchers time and time again is "where did the cached page go?" Yes, Google has moved the "cached" and "similar" links from near the display URL in the search results and to the instant preview section. To see it yourself, when you conduct a search, mouse over the search result and you should see a little bar and arrow show up on the right of the search result snippet. Either hold it there or click on it: When you click on it, a preview of the page will open up to [...]

Google Spell Checking Within Search Box?

Oct 12, 2011 at 9:23am ET by Barry Schwartz

It appears that Google is testing showing a red squiggly line in the Google search box as you type, if they feel the spelling of your query is wrong. You know, the red line you see when you have a spelling mistake when using Microsoft Word or other word processors. At first, I thought it was a built-in spell checking feature of the browser, but after seeing additional reports and then seeing it myself last night, it seems to me to be a new feature Google is testing. Here is a screen shot of it in action: I've had several other people confirm Google was showing them this red squigg [...]

“Photos” In Google Navigation Bar Now Links To Google+ Photos, Not Picasa, If Signed-In

Oct 11, 2011 at 9:22am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google has replaced the destination URL of the "Photos" link within the Google navigation at the top of the page. Now when you click on "Photos," and if signed-in, Google will take you to Google+ Photos, instead of taking you to Picasa photos. When I click on photos, I am taken to my Google+ profile with photos from my circles and public photos. If you're signed-out, the link still points to Picasa Web Albums. Earlier this year, there was a rumor that Picasa would be renamed to Google Photos. Alex Chitu spotted this and noted you can still access Picasa at picasaweb.google.com. In J [...]

Google Maps Sports New Look & Feel

Sep 30, 2011 at 7:58am ET by Matt McGee

Don't be alarmed the next time you use Google Maps: Yes, pretty much everything looks just a little bit different than it did yesterday. There's not a single, major change; instead, almost all of the individual pieces of the Google Maps interface have been updated: the red marker pins, the navigation controls, the Satellite/Earth/Traffic/etc. widget boxes, the Directions and My Places links and more. Google announced the changes late Thursday in a blog post on the also-redesigned Google LatLong blog, which also sports a new Blogger template (with a terrible user interface, in my opin [...]

A New Google Rich Snippet For Real Estate, Other Business Listings

Aug 26, 2011 at 10:55am ET by Barry Schwartz

It appears Google is testing a new type of rich snippet for displaying real estate and other types of business listings. I reported this at the Search Engine Roundtable and included a few pictures from various sources. The rich snippet, which is not yet confirmed by Google, seems to show real estate listings as well as possibly contractor listings. Zillow and Service Magic seem to be in this test. Here is a picture from @t1c1 of the Zillow result: Here is a picture from Carlos Gonzalez Rotger of the Service Magic listing: As you can see, this rich snippet seems to basically [...]

Google Tests Smooth Animated Instant Previews Effect

Aug 25, 2011 at 9:41am ET by Barry Schwartz

Mark Reynolds documented new instant previews functionality implemented, as a test, by Google. Google Instant Previews launched in November 2009 and since then has undergone many updates and changes. This new change seems to give a more animated, transition feel to when you activate the instant preview. It is a smooth and slower pop out of the instant preview than what Google first launched with. Mark provided this nice video that shows the new interface in action: Unable to display content. Adobe Flash is required. I personally still see the old fashion interface fo [...]

Confirmed: Google Testing Frames For Search Options & Search Results

Aug 19, 2011 at 2:20pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google has confirmed a new user interface test on the search results page where the left side search filters are in a scrollable frame, and the middle of the search results are in their own scrollable frame. Technically, they are not frames, but rather some form of AJAX or HTML5 like interface. I am honestly not sure, since I did not see it myself. I reported this at the Search Engine Roundtable and posted a video from a spanish blogger that captured it. Here is that video: The Spanish blogger also notes you can try this yourself by changing your cookies. I have not tri [...]

Google Adds Rich Snippet Support For Music

Aug 18, 2011 at 3:00pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google announced they have added yet another rich snippet support, this one is for music results. The snippet will display the name of the song, the duration of the clip, and the album the song is from. The song title will link to the site’s specific page for that song. This works for both audio or video songs. Here is a picture of how the rich snippets look for a search on [neil young]: Google has detailed technical documentation on music snippets to help webmasters have their pages show up for these rich snippets. Here is some same HTML code documented in the help doc [...]

Yes, Google Is Testing Infinite Scroll Web Results

Aug 17, 2011 at 1:05pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google has confirmed that they are indeed testing a form of infinite scroll web search results. I covered the news this morning at the Search Engine Roundtable sharing a screen shot from WebmasterWorld and a video from Waebo of this in action. Here is the video: As you can see, Google replaced the pagination feature from the bottom, where it says, "Gooooogle" and put a link that reads "show more results". Clicking on that will load an additional set of search results directly below the first set of results. A Google spokesperson confirmed this test saying, "Google is consta [...]

Official: Google Sitelinks Expands To 12 Pack

Aug 16, 2011 at 1:35pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Over the past few weeks, Google has been testing really large expanded Sitelinks in the search results for some queries for the past few weeks. After much testing, Google finally posted official confirmation that these new large sitelinks are here to stay. Google Expands Sitelinks: Google said the Sitelinks will now be "full-size links with a URL and one line of snippet text." The links and snippets will be very similar to the standard regular results, which Google says makes "it even easier to find the section of the site you want." Plus, Google is upping the number of sitelinks from [...]

The Real Reason Google Wonder Wheel Died: It Was A Pain To Maintain

Aug 15, 2011 at 8:30am ET by Gary Price

Several weeks ago we reported that Google had taken the Wonder Wheel service offline. Its removal was a surprise to all its users including the many K-12 educators. A Google spokesperson old us that Wonder Wheel was removed due to the "initial stage" of the Google website redesign but did not share any info when we asked if and/or when Wonder Wheel would return. Now, let's jump to the other day when I came across (by accident) a Google Help Forum post by a Google employee that was posted only two days after our Search Engine Land item. It provides a different explanation than Googl [...]

Google’s 12 Sitelink Experiment Returns

Aug 5, 2011 at 3:03pm ET by Matt McGee

Google is once again testing -- or continuing to test -- a jumbo-sized search result that displays a whopping 12 sitelinks below the main/top search result. Here's one example of how it looks: That's an image posted yesterday by Seer Interactive, where their blog post has additional screenshots showing 12 sitelinks for queries such as "whitehouse" and "city of philadelphia." Chris Barr also posted about this earlier today with a screenshot for the query "Taradel" (a printing company). But the test actually dates back to at least April, when it was noticed on WebmasterWorld and discus [...]

Google News Brings Editor’s Picks To Home Page

Aug 4, 2011 at 7:21pm ET by Matt McGee

More than a year after the experiment began, Google News has brought Editor's Picks to the home page of its US site-- marking the first real human-curated content on what Google has proudly said was always a completely algorithmic way of presenting news. It could also be seen as something of an olive branch toward publishers, especially given the shaky relationship that's existed between the two. In today's announcement, Google says it's been working with "nearly two dozen publishers" in the Editor's Picks program -- a group that includes "local, national and niche publishers." On quick [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Content | Google: News | Google: User Interface

Google Displaying Listing Numbers In Results Snippets

Aug 3, 2011 at 9:57am ET by Barry Schwartz

@fabioricotta noticed Google testing a new search snippet that places the number of listings found on a page or set of results. Here is a picture, notice where it shows "listing 1 - 9 of 11296." Google is frequently testing variations to the search description or snippet. They've tried showing recent stories, recent tweets, jump to links and many more variations of rich snippets. [...]

Confirmed: Google Search Testing New “Clean” Design: For Tablets Only

Jul 27, 2011 at 12:33pm ET by Barry Schwartz

Google is testing yet another design, this one is the same gray and black bar look but places the search filters and navigation at the top of the page, instead of on the left. Amit Agarwal posted screen shots of the new design, here are two of the many screen shots he has posted: Agarwal doesn't mention that the new design is only for tablets, but apparently he say it while using his iPad, The Next Web reports. It also cites two others seeing the look on their tablets, hence the idea this might be a tablet-only look. Personally, I am not in favor of moving the search results s [...]

Get Our News, Everywhere!

Follow @sengineland

Got a tip? Tell us here!

Most Likes
Most Tweets
Comments

Our Stories Being Liked on Facebook

Search Engine Land Sponsors

Advertise With Us

Free Daily Search News Recap!

SearchCap is a once-per-day newsletter update - sign up below and get the news delivered to you!

Click to watch SMX conference video

Join us at an upcoming SMX event:

North America

SMX Advanced - June 11-12, 2013
SMX East - Oct. 1-3, 2013
SMX Social Media Marketing - Nov. 7-8 2013
SMX West - March 11-13, 2014
SMX Toronto - March 2014

EMEA

SMX London - May 15-16, 2013
SMX Paris - June 6-7, 2013
SMX Stockholm - Oct. 14-15, 2013
SMX Milan - Novemeber 7-8, 2013
SMX Israel - January 2014
SMX Munich - April 2014

APAC

SMX Sydney - April 2014

Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.