GOOGLE'S NEW COLOUR SCHEME?

Paul Carpenter 11th April 2007
Jargon:
Paul Carpenter

To those of you who just use Google on the odd occasion, you might be forgiven for thinking that nothing much ever changes on their site. Very often, it is held up as an example of simple, unchanging design. Actually, they experiment quite a lot - and with good reason.

Whilst searching for Virgin Media today, I happened across just such an experiment.

The top sponsored links, as we tirelessly point out to our potential clients, are the listings that are sometimes highlighted in a pale blue box at the top of Google's results pages. Today, for the first time, I've seen this box in a pale yellow.

So Why Should I Care?

Because Google has such vast visitor numbers, it is possible for them to test out new features for a short time and get lots of information about whether those features are used or not. This yellow box is one such experiment. It might never been seen again or it might become a part of the Google experience.

Today's Moral

Even Google's apparently simple interface is subject to constant change and subtle improvement. Granted, every test like this they run reaches an audience of millions within hours, enabling them to judge quickly whether their changes have worked. But the lesson to draw is: it's always worth playing with your website design a little to see if you can enhance customer experience and increase conversions.

Notes and Queries...

Hi! How do you get featured in their yellow box. I understand AdWords gets you on the right. Thanks a bunch!
Justine 20th September 2008
Hi Justine. The simple (and disappointing!) answer is that Google themselves determine whether or not the "yellow box" is displayed.

Generally, if there are a lot of advertisers in a particular market Google are presumably making a fair bit of money from the competition, so the yellow box is rolled out for a certain percentage of searches to maximise clickthroughs. Alas, there is no hard and fast way to ensure you appear there - your best bet is to bid high on a competitive keyword and hope!
Paul Carpenter 21st October 2008
 
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