27 votes

Every Google result now looks like an ad

Posted by zlsa
Tags: google, advertising, dark patterns, ui
https://twitter.com/craigmod/status/1219644556003565568
@craigmod:
There's something strange about the recent design change to google search results, favicons and extra header text: they all look like ads, which is perhaps the point?

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Title
Craig Mod on Twitter
Authors
craigmod

7 comments

  1. Shahriar
    Link
    For me they look less like ads, but there's just so much visual clutter on the screen now. It feels different away from the usual minimalist approach we've seen in the past.

    For me they look less like ads, but there's just so much visual clutter on the screen now. It feels different away from the usual minimalist approach we've seen in the past.

    16 votes
  2. [3]
    Wes
    (edited )
    Link
    I saw this on HN, but I really don't see how favicons make the results look like ads. Ads have the bolded word Ad beside them, and are often separated by an embed from a vertical (news, image...

    I saw this on HN, but I really don't see how favicons make the results look like ads. Ads have the bolded word Ad beside them, and are often separated by an embed from a vertical (news, image results, etc).

    I'd agree that they add visual clutter to the page, but this seems like grasping at straws.

    edit: For kicks I compared it to DuckDuckGo. They also include favicons in their search results, and omit it for ads. Here is a comparison:

    Google: https://i.imgur.com/G7IMD8l.png
    DDG: https://i.imgur.com/ivAweru.png

    10 votes
    1. zlsa
      Link Parent
      This tweet was linked deeper in the thread, and shows how Google has been slowly but surely making ads less conspicuous. This move isn't itself bad, but it is (IMO) indicative of Google trying to...

      This tweet was linked deeper in the thread, and shows how Google has been slowly but surely making ads less conspicuous. This move isn't itself bad, but it is (IMO) indicative of Google trying to downplay ads and make them blend in more with real search results.

      10 votes
    2. skybrian
      Link Parent
      Yes, 2500+ upvotes on Hacker News for what seems to be an incorrect story. I would guess most people upvoted it without checking. It's sadly typical these days; there are just too many people who...

      Yes, 2500+ upvotes on Hacker News for what seems to be an incorrect story. I would guess most people upvoted it without checking.

      It's sadly typical these days; there are just too many people who will upvote any anti-Google story they see.

      8 votes
  3. mrbig
    Link
    I don't think they look like ads, but they have icons now and too much whitespace. I like the old way. I'm not sure if I'm referring to the same change.

    I don't think they look like ads, but they have icons now and too much whitespace. I like the old way.

    I'm not sure if I'm referring to the same change.

    7 votes
  4. envy
    (edited )
    Link
    TamperMonkey has a script to return google search results to the way they looked before.

    TamperMonkey has a script to return google search results to the way they looked before.

    5 votes