Gunning for Google

Recent redesigns at Yahoo!, Microsoft Live Search, and Ask.com are providing graphically rich alternatives to the minimalist search giant

by Matt Vella

Designers track where users' eyes go—here on the former AskJeeves site—producing heat maps where red indicates longer periods of focus.

On the re-designed and re-branded Ask search site, users adjusted their focus to the middle of the page where the new layout shows results.

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When Yahoo! (YHOO) unveiled a newly revamped search engine on Oct. 2, it was only the latest in a spate of high-profile search redesigns intended to dazzle users away from market leader Google (GOOG). Just a few days earlier, Microsoft (MSFT) had launched an upgrade of its Live Search technology and, in June, IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) took the wraps off a radically restyled Ask.com. But the glossy redesigns stir up some nagging questions about the next generation of search.

When Google launched in 1998, its pared down aesthetic, not to mention its highly relevant search results, provided a potent antidote to the overly busy, clunky design of the rest of the Web. It launched a trend for more simplified, easier to use Web design (BusinessWeek.com, 8/6/07) that has itself become common, visible on sites from AOL (TWX) to The New York Times (NYT).

But as different types of content have proliferated, boosted by ever faster connections, the temptation to do more—quickly—has become irresistible. Redesigned search engines appear to be moving toward a more graphics-rich look, in the process abandoning some of the visual simplicity that previously attracted both users and advertisers in droves.

New Content, New Design

"We're seeing the very beginnings of the next big evolution of search," says Gord Hotchkiss, chief executive officer of Enquiro, a search engine marketing firm in Kelowna, British Columbia. Hotchkiss says the change is partly the result of content formats (video, images, etc.) being indexed—but also the result of competitive pressures for search engines to differentiate themselves from one another. At stake: part of the $8 billion that research firm eMarketer forecasts advertisers will spend with search engines this year. Big players are betting that design could be the key to stealing loyal eyeballs—along with the revenue they bring with them.

To varying degrees, each major engine now provides so-called "blended" results, a mixture of text links as well as images, video, maps, and local directory information. (Click the links for more detailed information about the specific changes within Yahoo! (BusinessWeek.com, 10/2/07) or Microsoft's Live Search (BusinessWeek.com, 9/27/07).

Even Google's design has evolved. Its "universal search" concept, revealed in May, serves up images and video alongside text. It's still somewhat minimalist—it hides video within a window that only opens when a user clicks on it, for example. "The challenge is keeping the page simple and easy to read, while at the same time providing users with the useful information we know about, such as thumbnails for videos or publication time for news articles," Johanna Wright, a Google senior product manager, wrote in an e-mail. "But, our user interface is always evolving," she added.

"The real problem for Google is not degrading the user experience as they've defined it," says Hotchkiss of the search giant, which currently has a 64% market share, according to measurement firm Hitwise. "And yet, given the competitive landscape, they can't afford to sit on innovation either."