Google to redesign its redesign after criticism it made adverts blend-in with organic search results
Google to experiment with its desktop search website following criticism over its redesign
Google will go back to the drawing board on the redesign it implemented at the beginning of the year following criticism that it made search results look like adverts.
The criticism had come from across the board - users, politicians and media - amid suggestions that the redesign was deliberately intended to blur the difference between search results and adverts, and therefore to encourage users to click on adverts.
Among other things, the redesign had introduced different ‘favicons' to punctuate each search result, which Google had claimed enabled site domain names and brands to be displayed more prominently. It followed on from a redesign of search results on mobile last year, the company claimed, introducing the change on Monday 13th January.
"Last year, our search results on mobile gained a new look. That's now rolling out to desktop results this week, presenting site domain names and brand icons prominently, along with a bolded ‘Ad' label for ads," the company claimed in a tweet.
Critics, though, pointed out that the shift was just the latest in a line of ever-more advertiser-friendly changes to the way in which the company displays search results over the past decade or more. These include the fade-out of colour shades that used to denote the difference between adverts and organic search results up until just a few years ago.
Late on Friday the company indicated that it would be rowing back. However, rather than backtrack entirely the company says that it will "experiment with new placements for favicons".
In a statement, the company claimed that "the design has been well received by users on mobile screens, as it helps people more quickly see where information is coming from… Web publishers have also told us they like having heir brand iconography on the search results page".
Early testing among desktop users, the company added, was positive. "We are experimenting with a change to the current desktop favicons, and will continue to iterate on the design over time."
The criticism of Google's search redesign comes amid heightened scrutiny of the company, including an investigation by 48 state attorneys general in the US into alleged anti-competitive behaviour.
This is moving ahead with the attorneys general expected to meet in the next week to share information, according to Reuters. "Talks will likely include Google's dominance in online search, possible anticompetitive behaviour in its Android mobile operating system, and the best division of labour as the probes move forward," according to Reuters.