Who are you and what have you done with my Google?

Does Google’s new homepage remind you of Bing?

We think so too. But Google offers an option to change your background. We ask: where’s the original background? At least Bing’s homepage is a surprise every day and you can learn a little something by hovering around the photo. Try again, Google.

Take our quick poll and tell us what you think:

Last week, Google launched a new results page layout, giving searchers a variety of options to the left of the search results. The changes are primarily to the layout and styling and are intended to provide an even richer search experience for users. While the search options panel has been available since 2009, this is the first time Google included it in the default view for all users.

While the changes seem minor, many feel that the changes go against Google’s simple way of presenting information. Some posts in Google’s forum describe it as “shocking and horrible”. Google has stated that the new layout is still a work in progress.

We polled our team to see if the new layout is useful for searches and the team was pretty split. I guess time will tell…

Update: We encourage you to check out the full Google Latest Results Page POV prepared by Steve Rose and Sam Hailstone, SEO Engineers from the Razorfish UK Office!

Google started showing links to brand results for generic queries. Check the results for jeans for an example –  new “Brands” links drive to results for Apple Bottom, Se7en, etc. Arguably this will make shopping easier; it might also encourage more competition on brand keywords — a controversial source of Google revenue.

We asked 100 search marketers whether this development is good or bad for search. A solid majority went with “Good for Search.” After the chart, commentary on the poll from Razorfish’s Ryan Whitehead.

“As a user, I like it. It acknowledges the fact that people do multiple searches, shop around, compare brands: all points we make with our clients on a regular basis, but complications for direct measurement of return. Knowing Google, users must be interacting with these links or they wouldn’t stick around. It demands a lot of questions though:

• This is a benefit for users who don’t click ads in generic-query results. In the past, we could argue that being present on generics was critical for awareness or to stay top-of-mind, but now some clients are going to have presence there regardless. What will that mean?
• How will users respond to these links, behaviorally and psychologically? How many click; how many are motivated to do an additional search? Do the new links seem more or less credible than sponsored results? More like organic results? I’d be interested to see an eye-tracker study.
• Will this leach clicks away from organic? It pushes organic results just a little bit further down the page.
• What’s the impact on brand traffic for our search campaigns? Will searches triggered by clicks lead to similar purchase behavior as a normal query? We don’t see equivalent performance from that type of traffic on MSN.
• If your brand isn’t showing up, how do you “optimize” so it will? Do we know how Google is deciding which brands show up and how they’re ranking them?

I think this is less about likes/dislikes. If it’s good for consumers, we should embrace it, approach it as an opportunity. The online experience will always be fluid. As much as our clients need us to be answer providers, they also need us to be investigators, breaking down new features or partnerships into brand- and consumer-relevant benefits. Now I’ll get off my soapbox!”

Inspired by a post on the blog Legends of Aerocles, we asked Razorfish’s 100 search marketers who they trust more, Facebook or Google. The elder company won by a longshot, though the results would’ve been different if we’d allowed replies of “neither” or “Apple.”

The Razorfish search team often gains access to beta opportunities ahead of other advertisers, offering the chance to test new opportunities and learn what is effective to improve and scale campaign performance.

Last year Google released a new beta ad format called Sitelinks, which can be a great way to learn more about the intent of your brand searchers and improve their search experience.

Example of a Google Sitelinks Ad:

If your ads meet a certain quality threshold, you may be eligible to run site links. With Sitelinks, advertisers can submit up to 10 links and Google will select the four most relevant links to serve for any given query.

Clearly the new ad format is designed to improve CTR and relevancy. We polled our national team to find out who has tested it and how it’s working. 78% said they have tested Sitelinks and it had a positive impact on performance.

Have you tested Google Sitelinks? Tell us what you think!