Google Mobile Search Redesign Live: Favicons & Ad Label Blending

May 23, 2019 - 7:23 am 8 by
Filed Under Google

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For years Google has been testing placing the URL at the top of the search result snippet. Google also has been testing favicons near the URL as well for years. Google has also been testing a black ad label. Now it is officially all live in the main mobile search results.

And guess what, many in the SEO community believe it was done to confuse the searcher into thinking the ads are organic results. And I am not sure I disagree - it does seem to do that. The truth is, many of these UI changes like this seem to all try to improve the CTR on search ads. But hey - Google is saying this is not to confuse but rather Google said "With this new design, a website’s branding can be front and center, helping you better understand where the information is coming from and what pages have what you’re looking for. "

Here is the comparison (click to enlarge):

click for full size

Here is what some are saying about how it blends with the ads:

What do you think?

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

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