Google Search displays icons now on results pages

[douglas9]

If you are still using Google Search, you may have noticed that Google changed the design of the search results page by adding icons to results.

Google does not make changes to the company's search results page on a large scale regularly, and when it does, it is usually backed up by data that confirms that the change is beneficial.

Previously, search results showed the page title, part of the URL, and a short description of content. The only exception to the rule have been ads placed prominently on search results pages as they featured a tiny "Ad" next to the URL.

The search change rolled out last year to mobile users but Google started the roll out for desktop systems just this week.

The change impacts how advertisement is marked on search results pages and how sites are displayed. When you run a search now, you will notice that a site's favicon is displayed next to the URL in the top line. Below it is the page title and below the title is the description.

snip>

All you need to do is add the following filters to the custom filters list.

google.com##.TbwUpd
google.com###am-b0
google.com##.GHDvEf.ab_button

The filters remove the icons from Google Search to return to the much clearer look.



https://www.ghacks.net/2020/01/19/google-search-displays-icons-now-on-results-pages/#comment-4450388

[benld74]

1. Thank you

I was wondering where all those
ads were coming from

[braddy]

2. Thanks, those child like things are gone.

[lpbk2713]

3. Much appreciated

Google: If it aint broke don't fix it.

[CloudWatcher]

4. Say good bye to Google

I've recently switched to DuckDuckGo.com as my default search engine. Works great.

Why did I switch? I noticed that clicking on the links in google's search results did NOT take you directly to that link. Instead they take you to google first ... so they can log which site you went to after the search.

Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but was enough to piss me off and switch.

[douglas9]

5. Google is backtracking on its controversial desktop search results redesign (Update 1.24.2020)

Google is backtracking on a controversial search engine redesign, announcing today that it will experiment with some elements of the new look in response to user feedback.

Google made one of the biggest changes to how it displays search results in the company’s history earlier this month, with the changes taking effect over the course of the last week. It involved a visual overhaul that makes it more difficult to differentiate between advertising and organic search results with the removal of color overlays and the introduction of small branded iconography, known on the web as favicons, next to non-ad results.

The company’s stated intention was to align desktop search results with the way they’re presented on mobile, but it became clear this also had the effect of making it harder to distinguish between paid results and non-paid ones. The only difference between an ad and an organic result in the new design is the small lettering or icon next to a link, meaning ads and organic results now look more similar than ever before. And critics have been noticing.

Now, Google says it’s going to experiment with both the existence of favicons next to search results and their placement on the web version of its search engine. The experiments will take place “over the coming weeks.”

https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/24/21080424/google-search-result-ads-desktop-favicon-redesign-backtrack-controversial-experiment