Why Did Google add logos next to each search result on users desktops?
This might seem like a very menial change and to the common eye you probably wouldn’t spot the difference from before, however, from an advertiser’s point of view, the impacts could be very beneficial.
Google announced this change in May last year regarding a new search layout and design but only rolled it out for mobile search results. However, it finally went live on desktop earlier this week when Google’s Public Liaison of Search tweeted a screenshot of what to expect. We’ve included our own screenshot of what happens when you search for “Onefeed”:
As you can see, the logos add a bit of colour to the search results and a website’s favicon is now displayed to the left of the companies URL.
After a week of the new design roll-out, Onefeed has had time to reflect on the new changes and have concluded, the new design is for the better and will positively impact businesses using Google Ads’ Expanded Text Ads.
We believe this for the following reasons:
- Including a website’s favicon on the left-hand side of the search result puts the company’s brand on display, not only will this help users find the correct website they’re after but it’s also a fantastic opportunity for sites to show off their branding with a bit of colour from their logo/favicon.
- The new layout places the URL’s above the headline or meta title, giving a clearer view of the search results and emphasizes the site title.
- Most importantly, we believe Google’s attempt to separate Paid Search Ads from Organic listings by using the new bold “Ad” hasn’t quite worked. In our opinion, it is now more difficult to distinguish between a Paid Ad and an Organic Search result due to the introduction of the favicons. Consequently meaning, the revamp will prove highly successful with advertisers as shoppers will find it harder to tell what is an ad and what isn’t, increasing the click-through rate (CTR).
Our thoughts on the new design and the comments from the announcement on Monday of those in the Digital Marketing Industry have arrived at the same conclusion. Most people agree that the ability to differentiate between a Paid Ad and an Organic result will continue to be unclear, resulting in users “accidentally” clicking on ads, inadvertently increasing advertisers CTR. Whether this was Google’s direct intention or not is also unclear, but what we do know is that it will have a positive impact on Advertisers.
