Article Idea:
The Google Effect
suggested by Kate Walser on 2007/05/29
One of the most popular (if not THE most popular) and sought out features on a Web site is the search engine. The search engine that started out as the little search engine that could, with a super simple user interface and just a search box has become a favorite of many, young to old. So what does its pervasiveness mean for the rest of the gang? What happens if your site’s not using Google? What will your users expect and how does that influence their behavior?
Round of usability testing of a site, one of the many that still has yet to adopt Google, there are lessons to learn.
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Kate Walser
32 Reputation points
Posted 2007/06/28 @ 21:26PM with
To add some additional details – this would also discuss how Google’s search results format and design impact user’s expectations about other search engine results pages. Areas to the top and right may be ignored depending on what you’re putting there and how you’re styling it, just because users are familiar with Google’s sponsored ads. That’s bad news for any valuable features such as “narrow your search” and other elements that may go in those spots.
Search behavior, in terms of how users structured their search queries, is fodder as well.
Add to it the interesting wrench that Google has patented their search results format…
This article would include discussion of what we learned through user interviews and usability testing of a site that did NOT use the Google search engine.