In marketing news, over the past couple of weeks it seems that more Google search results layout changes were implemented and these were mobile specific. While the changes were not substantial, they definitely are indicative of a slight change in focus and attitude from the behemoth of a company and that should matter to marketers. As anyone who has seen the data can attest to, even the slightest of changes to a search result listing can have seemingly disproportionate effects on the success of that listing as far as click through rates and general engagement are concerned. Some of these changes were permanent implementations of elements that had already been a part of selective testing for quite some time, while others were barely noticeable, with others still offering a nice bit of personalisation for websites to fly their brand flag and stand out a bit.

A bit of context for you on this article’s comments:

1. A favicon is a little icon that many websites utilise (usually using it to insert their logo) and which appears usually in the tab of the browser being used as well as various other places onsite and online. With this Google search results layout change they are allowing you to have this favicon appear on the top left of your search results. Pretty great way to stand out from the crowd if you’ve got a logo you’re really proud of.
2. Google have changed from green to black with regards to the text informing you that a result is an ad. This indicates their clear desire not to hid the fact that something is an advertisement. Green is a much softer and less noticeable colour when it comes to smaller mobile text and this will make it easier to identify.
3. While the removal of the “grey bar” at the bottom of listings may seem insignificant, we can assure you that search engines change nothing about their listings without careful consideration and data analysis, so take a good look at the new search results and have a good think yourself about whether or not this might affect your listing. A brief example might be the fact that there is less differentiation between one ad and the next that can be relied upon be default. You may need to make the end of your ad more obvious.