More Testing for Google SERPs

By Lee Odden

Normally when related queries are suggested after doing a search on Google, they appear at the bottom of the search results page (SERP). I noticed this weekend Google is testing the display of other Google categories as well as related search queries above the right side column ads. (Outlined in red)

The example above shows a link to Google Products. However, other keyword queries generate links to other Google search products: Google News, Scholar, Blogs, Books, Video, etc. I am only able to create these results on Firefox using Google, not via MSIE or Opera browsers.

What does this mean for search marketers? Not a whole lot. But if Google started using the top right screen real estate to start showing links to more information, it could present secondary promotion opportunities in the same way that OneBox results do.

It makes sense for Google to do more to disambiguate search results, because as good as Google is at “organizing the world’s information” the quality of search results is nowhere near ideal. Adding alternate drill down options helps make up for variances in query context and searcher intentions.

Here are screen shots of other layouts Google has been testing recently.

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News Tags: Google, SERPs, comments

About the author:
Lee Odden is CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, a digital marketing and public relations firm in Minnesota that specializes in search, social and online PR consulting and training for companies worldwide. Odden has been cited for his internet marketing expertise over the past 10 years by the Economist, Forbes and U.S. News and contributed a chapter to the book, "Online Marketing Heroes" published by Wiley. For the past 5 years he has also been the editor of TopRank's Online Marketing Blog, a Technorati 100 favorite blog and one of the top marketing blogs according to Advertising Age.

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More Testing for Google SERPs

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