Google: 1,653 Search Launches With 9,800 Live Experiments & 130,336 Search Quality Tests

Apr 28, 2017 - 8:11 am 9 by
Filed Under Google

Google Test Tubes

We all know Google does a lot of testing, in fact, I probably only cover less than 5% of the tests people email or send me that Google is running. I see tons and tons of UI tests, feature tests, color changes, ranking changes and more. So when Google sends things are constantly changing in search - they are not lying.

The issue is defining what are UI and feature changes versus core algorithm changes. I like to cover the ranking changes and then Google comes back and says we make thousands of changes to search every year. Of course they do, but what percentage of those changes are ranking specific? A much smaller number.

Anyway, on the new how search works site that Google just revamped, Google documented the raw number of those changes to the search results.

Glenn Gabe pulled the metrics from the page and posted them on Twitter. The page that has this is over here. In summary:

  • Google quality raters conducted 130,336 search quality tests this past year
  • Google ran 18,015 side-by-side experiments in search
  • Google tried 9,800 live traffic experiments which hit about 1% of the searchers
  • Google ultimately launched only 1,653 of them based on all those tests

Year, only 1,653 launched fully but again. those are both UI, features, search rankings and more.

Here is a GIF screen capturing these metrics so we have it for when/if Google changes these metrics for next time:

google-tests-launches-screenshot

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 11, 2025

Jul 11, 2025 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Helpful Content Recoveries With Core Update, AI Mode Expands, Hidden Ad Terms & Fewer Ad Clicks

Jul 11, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google Maps

Google Local & Business Profiles Drops June 25th - Reporting Glitch?

Jul 11, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google

Google Tests Zoom Effect In On Images Within Search Results

Jul 11, 2025 - 7:41 am
Bing Search

Bing Search Image Box Tests Explore Image & Visual Search Buttons

Jul 11, 2025 - 7:31 am
Bing Search

Microsoft Bing Tests Delivery Truck Icon In Search Ads

Jul 11, 2025 - 7:21 am
Previous Story: Google Mobile Results Tests Dropping AMP Results Completely?