Google offers more choices, less clutter with homepage redesign

Post by Steven Cox on 3rd January 2012
 in Google, PPC, Search, SEO

More options contained in pull-down menu bars have been added to a new version of Google's home page which is currently undergoing limited trials.

The redesign, thought by many to be one of the biggest it has ever undertaken, is part of the search engine giant's efforts to promote many of the other services and associated businesses which now form part of the growing Google empire.

A Google spokesman told the BBC the redesign aimed to improve users' experience: "Constant revision and improvement is part of our overarching philosophy," he said.

Having established a reputation for keeping a minimalist look, Google is now looking to reconcile that with the need to promote its own offerings, Chris Green, technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group said.

The move showed that Google was keen to keep the minimalist front-page design for which it had become known, while at the same time strengthening the links between the browser and the company's Chrome operating system for netbooks, he added.

Advertisers may also benefit from the new design, Green said, because rather than being able to click straight through to the images or news sections of Google, users now have to make two clicks – which means they are likely to see more of both the PPC and display advertising featured on the site's home page.

Meanwhile, the threat of possible action by both American and European competition authorities is still in place, over concerns that Google can manipulate search results to favour its own services over those offered by rivals.

Google has, though, denied any deliberate attempts to harm competitors.