

Will This Be The New Google Web Design? - jggube
http://sixrevisions.com/user-interface/new-google-web-design/

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SlyShy
It has already looked like that for me for a few months now. Don't see what
the big deal is.

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NathanKP
Same for me. We had a post on here about three months ago about how to set a
cookie so that you saw the new design. I like the new design way better than
the old one.

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Estragon
Does it really make that much difference? I type my queries into the search
bar, and when I get the results, that's all I see. I don't notice the design
at all unless it gets in my way.

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chime
I really hope they don't default the web search to "show more options". What I
LOVE about Google is that I can start scanning down from top-left. Now I'd
have a whole bar on the left I'd ignore 90% of the time. I know these bars
help refine search for most people but it just doesn't feel comfortable to me.

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ErrantX
I've had some split tests of this hit me (I think) over the last few weeks.

On my netbook it hid the sidebar (I think this was deliberate and not a split)

I've also had it appearing/disappearing by default on various desktop machines
(I think that was a split).

I have to confess it is growing on my as a feature. The icons convinced me to
start using the filters and some of them are useful.

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michael_dorfman
I wonder what metric Google uses as a proxy for "conversion" in their A/B
testing-- page views? Length of time on site? Ads clicked?

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stingraycharles
IMHO there would be only one thing that makes sense: money earned.

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michael_dorfman
And how would they A/B test for that, exactly?

Obviously, that's what they are interested in, in the long run-- but to test
design changes, they need a more specific (and easily measurable) metric. And,
no doubt, they have one. I just don't know what it might be.

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inerte
They have several.

To answer your question, if I was to pick up only one, the first that came to
my mind was "pageviews". So, everything that increases pageviews is good.
Well, not quite, because so is CTR, and in fact doubling CTR allows you to
halve pageviews.

Anyway, whatever they think of, the ultimate step is money earned. No single
path leads to this, but several, like pageviews, CTR, click value, searches
per day, other services integration, etc...

Edited: You're thinking about A/B testing but I don't know if you're aware
there's also multivariate testing, which Google does use (its optimizer easily
creates A/B and multivariate).

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zephyrfalcon
I can't help but thinking that these changes seem fairly trivial. The article
seems eager to claim that these are big deals. "The logo looks more modern"...
Says who? The new-style buttons "[provide] more consistency between different
browsers and operating systems". And less consistency between web pages on the
same browser/system.

Anyway, it's confusing that the very first image, directly below the title,
shows a search box that is tilted wrt its background. Now _that_ would be
innovate design... :-)

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BoppreH
Well, some weeks ago Bing was claiming a profit of millions because they
changed the hue of blue of their links.

All this "looks more modern", "provides more consistency" claims are
subjective, sure, but if enough people think like this it's already a win for
Google.

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ErrantX
They've been trialling this for a while I think; my home computer has the new
interface and has done for at least a week.

First impressions: "nicer" to look at for the most part - but no more or less
functional (fresh is, I think, the best word for it). The sidebar is initially
disconcerting/nasty but it's growing on me quickly.

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Shorel
Seems to me they are feeling the pressure from Bing, as most changes just make
it more similar to Bing than before.

Including something resembling the '80 million dollars blue'.

Split testing is awesome.

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davidw
I got that a week or so ago, complete with a serif font in the search box:

<http://twitpic.com/1edlwq/full>

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neovive
The most significant change to me is the expanding of the "More Options" on
the search results page by default. This page is critical for Google's ad
revenue, so I assume they are measuring any reduction in adwords CTR and
comparing that with the additional traffic being directed via the more options
links.

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ottbot
I've not used this yet, but based from the screenshot it's a shame the time
sorting/filtering options don't seem to be available or quickly accessible. I
guess this is under 'more search tools'. I probably use this feature the most
of those on the left panel.

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d0m
I have never been good in the "Find the difference between two images", but
I'm sure this guy is a pro. For instance, the blue border between the
suggestion box..

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dpritchett
I only visit the Google front page when articles like this one remind me to.
I'd have though most of HN searched directly in the address/search bars like
me...

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andr
It's peculiar that they would A/B test all those changes at once, instead of
testing them one by one to see what's good and what's not.

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jeffreyg
I had the new look for about 10 minutes a few weeks ago

