Google it. Everyone who has ever connected to the internet knows what that means. But should it really mean use Google to search for/find something on the internet? Or should it be a term for being bombarded with ads and white space when you’re looking for something. Google’s search results have all just become links to Google’s own services.
Tutorspree analysed how much space Google dedicates to its search results page and found that on a 13-inch MacBook Air screen, only 13 per centis dedicated to results (with those results usually being Wikipedia or Yelp). 29 per cent of the page is Google AdWords, 14 per cent is Google’s navigation bar and 7 per cent is links to Google Maps. The rest is Google’s iconic white space.
Local searches are even worse because for one, Google automatically determines what’s a local search and secondly, there’s only 7 per cent of immediate screen real estate dedicated to actual search results. What’s amazing is that mobile searches are probably the absolute worst — it takes four page scrolls to get an ‘organic’ search result.
Google will always be indispensable as a service, no one doubts that, and it’ll always feel the quickest but it’s become a wee bit more complicated and self-serving than old Google. Google is just a way to round us up to use more Google. [Tutorspree via BoingBoing]