Brodie Clark, an SEO Consultant who recently posted on Twitter a video which showed that Google is testing something new and interesting.
As per his observation, Google is running a test for a new Search Refinement option (or your may call them related searches) on mobile devices. Whenever a user types something in the search bar and scrolls down, then scrolls back up, Google will show other search refinement options for the original query almost instantly.
For now, a static box appears instantly asking the user to refine their search results, but Brodie Clark demonstrated it through a GIF and in his tweet, it seems that if the user types in ‘Check this out’ in the search bar, Google starts showing some quick and relevant search options too, with boxes saying ‘Check this out - Podcast’ or ‘Check this out - Meaning’ etc.
According to Brodie, this is something quite new, and interesting from Google. He calls it a ‘pretty cool, tidy looking sticky search bar test’ for mobiles, and that is a very apt description.
It will not only make the search more efficient, but it will also make it more effective because all the related searches will appear at the top. This will give the users a quick means to refine their search and look for what they were searching for almost instantly.
Previously, when you would start typing in something in the search bar, Google would start giving you options that Google thought were related to your query. Sometimes, it helped, but honestly, most of the times it used to feel like an interruption in the query typing process, because if the user wanted to type ‘How to bake a chocolate lava cake’, Google would start giving all sorts of options from the moment the user typed ‘How to…’ And Google’s suggestions would range from ‘How to kiss’ or ‘How to love!’
Now, in all honesty, that used to be a pretty annoying thing, and one needed to focus hard on one’s own query related to the chocolate lava cake rather than other things that Google used to dish out in front of the eyes!
Not to mention that it wasted some search time too. So, this new feature which will most likely come in the form of a search bar with dedicated options and that would make the search spectrum broader for the user, as well as it will be more organized with everything relevant, and nothing going completely haywire.
Also, Brodie noticed another small change that the popular Magnifying Glass icon for search has been replaced by a G logo.
We do not know if these changes will be permanent, or if they will make it through the tests. The search icon getting changed is not a very significant thing and why Google felt the need to change it does not make sense at the moment, but let us wait and see if Google itself gives a statement or an official announcement regarding these changes anytime soon.
Until then, we can only wait and try to make our own judgments.
Read next: Google Search Will Now Enable Mobile-first Indexing for All Websites In March 2021
As per his observation, Google is running a test for a new Search Refinement option (or your may call them related searches) on mobile devices. Whenever a user types something in the search bar and scrolls down, then scrolls back up, Google will show other search refinement options for the original query almost instantly.
For now, a static box appears instantly asking the user to refine their search results, but Brodie Clark demonstrated it through a GIF and in his tweet, it seems that if the user types in ‘Check this out’ in the search bar, Google starts showing some quick and relevant search options too, with boxes saying ‘Check this out - Podcast’ or ‘Check this out - Meaning’ etc.
According to Brodie, this is something quite new, and interesting from Google. He calls it a ‘pretty cool, tidy looking sticky search bar test’ for mobiles, and that is a very apt description.
It will not only make the search more efficient, but it will also make it more effective because all the related searches will appear at the top. This will give the users a quick means to refine their search and look for what they were searching for almost instantly.
This is pretty cool. A tidy looking sticky search bar test on mobile. Has related queries at the top & a switch from the magnifying glass to the G logo 👀 pic.twitter.com/z1ElgvGVzy— Brodie Clark (@brodieseo) July 23, 2020
Previously, when you would start typing in something in the search bar, Google would start giving you options that Google thought were related to your query. Sometimes, it helped, but honestly, most of the times it used to feel like an interruption in the query typing process, because if the user wanted to type ‘How to bake a chocolate lava cake’, Google would start giving all sorts of options from the moment the user typed ‘How to…’ And Google’s suggestions would range from ‘How to kiss’ or ‘How to love!’
Now, in all honesty, that used to be a pretty annoying thing, and one needed to focus hard on one’s own query related to the chocolate lava cake rather than other things that Google used to dish out in front of the eyes!
Not to mention that it wasted some search time too. So, this new feature which will most likely come in the form of a search bar with dedicated options and that would make the search spectrum broader for the user, as well as it will be more organized with everything relevant, and nothing going completely haywire.
Also, Brodie noticed another small change that the popular Magnifying Glass icon for search has been replaced by a G logo.
We do not know if these changes will be permanent, or if they will make it through the tests. The search icon getting changed is not a very significant thing and why Google felt the need to change it does not make sense at the moment, but let us wait and see if Google itself gives a statement or an official announcement regarding these changes anytime soon.
Until then, we can only wait and try to make our own judgments.
Read next: Google Search Will Now Enable Mobile-first Indexing for All Websites In March 2021
