Dec 2024
10 Dec

Google is now testing out a new list of articles feature titled Research More. The unit is quite similar looking to the List Articles test from October but I’m unable to trigger it for the same queries with the same inclusions as this test. The Research More unit takes up quite a bit of space in search results, which can be collapsed to display a Reviews from the web sub-heading. Here’s what the test looks like on mobile.

09 Dec

Google has continued to expand the trending label test from last month, now specifying who the page is popular with. Examples of this test I’ve seen so far with the blue label include a popular with shopping enthusiasts label and also popular with runners (being specific to the customer segment). This test is also showing with the grey variation, which also shows a popular with shoppers label.

04 Dec

Google is now testing out a new ‘Where to buy’ title for the eCommerce rich cards feature as a replacement to the original popular stores test. There continues to be 3 distinct variations of this test, including with larger favicons, with title links, and with a featured product. First spotted by Sachin Patel. There’s also a version with 11 products (instead of 8) with a ‘more products’ link that takes you to the Shopping tab.

Nov 2024
28 Nov

Google is continuing to test trending/popularity labels for organic listings, with the most recent string of tests being an image overlay on mobile. There are 3 variations of this test including the trending this week overlay spotted by Sachin Patel, trending this week with a flame, and also popular this week with an arrow.

24 Nov

Google is now testing out the Short Videos menu item on desktop for the first time, showing a grid of short video results. This comes after the menu item launched on mobile in August.

22 Nov

Google is now testing out a new variation for coupon code rich results. Instead of the normal blue coupon code extension showing the code itself, Google is showing a ‘Copy code’ underscored link. When clicking the coupon link it goes green, instead of the normal blue copied extension.

15 Nov

Google is now testing out a new product variants rich result for product pages. Based on testing, it appears to only be showing for pages with colour variants for the moment, which I would expect to expand to other variants (such as sizing). The mobile version of this test works quite well with the colour variants being an extension to the product image. Each of the colour variant circles aren’t clickable to the corresponding URL.

15 Nov

Google is now testing out an AI Sales Assistant through a ‘Shop’ CTA on branded organic sitelinks. When clicking the CTA, a chat window opens up with the ability to ask questions that serve results for the website. The chat serves product results based on the free listings data.

15 Nov

Google is now testing out various trending labels for organic listings. This was first sent to me by Will Swales showing a grey trending this week label and then by Sachin Patel with a green variation. I’ve also spotted a trending store rich result for category pages that also features an ‘Items up to x% off’ rich result that I’ve also been seeing more often lately.

01 Nov

Google is now testing out a ‘highlight’ button for AI Overviews in Search on desktop with a pop-up asking users to select text to receive an AI explanation. Instead of the normal ‘learn more’ text that appears in it’s place, the highlight functionality allows for a more immersive experience where the user can continue to learn by highlighting text within the snippet. Important to note that while my test window did show the highlight feature for each search that triggered an AIO, some examples had an error notice that appeared.

Oct 2024
27 Oct

Google is now testing out a new variation for the shop nearby rich result. Instead of just showing ‘shop nearby’ as the link, Google is instead testing out the distance in brackets as the GBP listing link.

24 Oct

Google is testing out another variation of the mobile sitelinks label titled featured links. This is an extension of the testing from earlier in the month that was first discovered by Sachin Patel.

22 Oct

Google is now testing out a new treatment for the eCommerce full-width rich cards display from last month. There are two variations, one that includes a more full-bodied format and another that highlights the first result more heavily.

21 Oct

Google is now testing out a ‘shop nearby’ rich result snippet for eCommerce pages in search results. When clicking the ‘shop nearby’ text, a panel appears with details of the closest GBP listing for the store. This test is showing on both desktop and mobile, with the mobile version working quite well in my experience, with a fast loading full-width listing that appears.

14 Oct

Google is now testing out blue tick verification icons for knowledge panels. This is after first testing out the blue ticks for organic listings in August and also for product grid results more recently.

13 Oct

Google is now testing out a top links label for branded sitelinks on mobile. The test includes two different variations, involving either a top links label with a globe icon or with a ‘top links from’ label that includes the favicon and site name.

07 Oct

Google is now testing out a researched with AI experiment within the Shopping tab. This was first discovered by Khushal Bherwani on Twitter. The experience involved an AIO-type summary appearing at the top with product suggestions included. Not all queries generated a response when in my test window.

06 Oct

Google is now doing various bits of testing on mobile for the sponsored ads label and format for individual text-based ads. There are several variations of this test, with some of the more unique ones including ‘by’,  one including a • symbol, and another with : in it. This test is being run in conjunction with the featured results test from last month.

06 Oct

Google is now testing out a most mentioned places carousel for Google Business Profiles in search results. When clicking the individual listings, it opens the GBP listing as if it was a normal local pack result.

06 Oct

Google is testing out a new layout for the articles carousel. Instead of the standard carousel format for articles, Google is instead showing two rows of the articles that can be expanded to view more.

05 Oct

Google is now showing the Organized with AI experience on mobile in the recipes and meal inspiration segment. This follows Google’s recent announcement about this feature being rolled out to users in the US. The current iteration of the feature shows with either the Organized with AI title (same as the announcement) or with the more standard title Generative AI is experimental.

05 Oct

Google is now testing out a dedicated unit in search results for list articles. The test features 3 articles by default and can be expanded to show more results

04 Oct

Google is now doing various bits of testing on desktop for the favicon and site name. Test variations include having a bolded and non-bolded variation, along with another bolded and non-bolded variation that covers not only the favicon and site name but also the URL. This test is an extension the mobile variation from August.

02 Oct

Google is now testing out a nearby label for product grid results, with the closest by proximity being the top ranking result. The ‘In shops nearby’ organic product carousel is one that I have been seeing appear more often recently, alongside popular products and deals. This is similar to the best price and most popular label from last week.

Sep 2024
30 Sep

Google is now testing out different background shading colours for featured snippets on mobile. Sometimes showing with a blue or grey, the test mimics a similar treatment for featured snippets in knowledge panels, likely trying to fit in more with AIOs.

24 Sep

Google is now testing out labels for the ‘most popular’ and ‘best price’ products within the popular products grid. This test may point to the weighting behind each of these aspects within the product comparison, giving prominence to the lowest price and the most visited pages.

23 Sep

Google is now testing a product grid of merchant listings for small businesses on mobile. Instead of highlighting the standard lists for popular products, deals or fast delivery, Google is instead showcasing a section for products sold by small businesses.

22 Sep

Google is now testing out a rich cards section at the top of search results on desktop for eCommerce queries. This same format dates back to July 0f 2022, first showing for celebrities and then expanding for other topics. This is the first time the rich card full-width display has shown for eCommerce queries, featuring the first set of popular product listings, popular stores, along with other informational content.

19 Sep

Google is now testing out the Top Quality Store badge on desktop for organic listings. The TQS badging test dates back over a year for standard organic listings on mobile, with it only recently starting to surface in desktop results.

18 Sep

Since the South African flag label started showing in July, John Mueller shared an update to make it official and included a menu item filter. Once the filter is selected it only shows results that qualify.

16 Sep

Google is now testing out a ‘continue browsing’ product grid section on desktop. Beneath the grid title it says ‘recently viewed’, with the example clearly showing that I’m not signed in so I suspect these have been viewed by searchers in general.

16 Sep

Google is now testing AI Overviews for knowledge panel descriptions on mobile beyond the testing for animals and people. This test is now showing more broadly, with descriptions being re-written for topics instead of the standard website descriptions.

15 Sep

Google is now testing out a ‘recent posts’ carousel from various sources for a broad set of queries on mobile and desktop. This test is similar to the latest posts carousel from July, with ‘recent posts’ showing for queries beyond just peoples names.

13 Sep

Google is now testing out a new AI Overview variation on mobile. Instead of the default mobile treatment, Google is instead testing a similar variant to the early knowledge panel test featuring references and a ‘more’ drop-down.

12 Sep

Google is again doing mobile testing where ads are less easy to distinguish from organic results. Within the test, ads are being grouped together under a ‘Featured results’ or a ‘Promoted results’ (covered by SER yesterday) heading making them look more like organic, with all organic results being under ‘All results’.

Aug 2024
30 Aug

Google is now testing out a new display for mobile search results, featuring a light grey background for the favicon and site name. Another difference compared to the normal format is the URL being placed beside the date (instead of below the site name).  This test looks to be an extension of the grey and blue rectangle test.

29 Aug

Google is currently testing out the removal of breadcrumbs from snippets on desktop. Instead of showing the standard automatic breadcrumb treatment, they are instead showing only the domain name for sub-pages. I recall Google testing this at various times over the years, with the original formatting being the full URL. This was first brought to my attention by Akarsh Kavuttan.

27 Aug

Google is now testing out different variations for the default icon when the favicon isn’t showing for a web page on mobile and desktop. Instead of the default blue globe, there is 7 different variations being tested. This includes the default globe with a grey background, a link icon in blue and grey, an upward facing arrow in blue and grey, and also a different globe icon in blue and grey. Some variations covered first by SER.

22 Aug

Google is now testing out a subtle change of colour to the grey rectangle that appears for the favicon, site name and URL, now instead with blue. This is an extension of the testing from June.

21 Aug

Google is now testing out a blue tick verification icon for organic listings in search results. Based on my testing, the blue tick icon only shows for eCommerce stores when relevant. The blue tick doesn’t show for all eComm stores, with the test being quite widespread across stores once enabled, showing a description for the icon on hover. Funnily enough, I made a joke tweet about Google rolling this out in 2022 after Twitter was making changes, I guess that joke has come true.

21 Aug

Google has started testing the short videos carousel on desktop for the first time since 2021. The test looks similar to the 2021 version, now highlighting the YouTube in-SERP viewing experience and TikTok favicons.

20 Aug

Google is now testing a blue highlight for features on hover that was first covered by SER. The examples within the article have the highlight appearing across standard organic listings and videos, whereas another variation of the test shows the highlight only appearing for PAA.

20 Aug

Google is now testing a new drop-down with a ‘Hidden gems’ title on desktop. There was a similar mobile test last month for hidden gem stores that featured product listings. This test is different, showing standard web search results when opened. Also spotted by Yan Gilbert.

19 Aug

Google is now showing AI overviews for non-logged in users in US search results by default. AIO were previously only showing for logged in users up until this point.

19 Aug

Google has now launched the Short Videos menu item on mobile globally. The menu item first started appearing in April of this year in the US as a test, with Google quickly moving on to launch in all regions.

01 Aug

Google is now testing out displaying a blue highlight for standard organic listings on desktop for the first time. This comes after various bits of test history for this feature, first appearing on mobile and displaying across different features. Here’s what it looks like alongside the featured snippet blue highlight.

Jul 2024
29 Jul

Google is now testing out a new desktop twitter carousel featuring a ‘Latest Posts from’ title with profile photos for the tweets and different formatting. Gagan Ghotra also spotted the test variation including other social platforms. This test feels similar to the ‘Latest from’ carousel for blog posts from September of 2023.

25 Jul

Google is now testing social media videos appearing in brand knowledge panels. The section is titled ‘Videos from’, featuring videos published to Instagram, TikTok and more. The knowledge panels also feature the Seller Rating and Top Quality Store feature, which also appears to have rolled out internationally.

22 Jul

Google is now doing various bits of testing for favicons and site names on desktop. Instead of the standard format, there’s a small favicon version, an extra large one without bolding, and one without. It is very rare to see favicon and site name testing on desktop, with most testing in recent years being on mobile.

The favicon and site name testing on desktop was the most prolonged test throughout the month and frequently noticed by the SEO community. Testing of this element of search results is a common one, which we will likely see again in the near future.

19 Jul

Google is now testing out a new format for non-branded desktop sitelinks, featuring bubbles surrounding the links themselves with a blue background on hover. This is a similar format to the mobile test from June.

16 Jul

Google is now testing out a new ‘NEW’ label assigned to menu items below the search bar. The test is focused on the ‘Forums’ menu item, with several different variations: blue text, blue text with a blue background, white text with a blue background, and with just a blue dot.

04 Jul

Google is doing various bits of testing related to the search bar. The testing involves making the search bar grey, longer, or longer with light grey. First discovered by Sachin Patel who submitted this finding via the form below.

Jun 2024
28 Jun

Google is now testing out a new eCommerce mobile thumbnail variation for category pages. There have been variations of this test from Jan 2024 and Mar 2024, with the key difference being the new titles and linking directly to the products.

24 Jun

Google is testing out new variations for standard sitelinks on mobile for web pages. Instead of the normal light grey rectangles with blue text, Google is testing variations with rounded edges, with black text, a variation featuring arrows, along with one with a grey background.

June of 2024 had a strong focus around testing for web page snippets, featuring tests related to various sitelink formats, favicon displays, site names and URL formatting.

22 Jun

Google has been testing out AI overview snippets outside of the standard placement at the top of search results. In the past, we have had them appear outside of the logged in experience within knowledge panels on mobile, the top insights unit on mobile, and now on GBP listings on desktop as discovered by Joy Hawkins.

13 Jun

Google is continuing to test new mobile snippet formats that overlap with testing from earlier in the month and April, now focused on making the favicon larger with a grey URL along with a squared off edge.

12 Jun

After a string of mobile branded sitelink tests in April, Google is now doing similar on desktop. Featuring tests with black sitelinks, with arrows, along with arrows with circles around them.

09 Jun

Google is running a mobile test for web page snippets where a light grey rectangle appears that surrounds the site name, favicon and URL. This test appears to be an extension of similar mobile testing for snippets from April.

09 Jun

Google is doing more testing of double featured snippets on desktop, this time featuring a ‘from sources across the web’ label (which is normally a different feature) along with a different stacked grey background treatment. There is also the treatment that has appeared in the past that features the results beside one another. We’ve seen Google add similar labels to featured snippets in the past such as perspectives and see what other sites say. Multiple featured snippets have been a default feature on mobile for some time in certain regions.

May 2024
31 May

Google is now testing a new banner section at the top of search results similar to the test from April. Instead of showing the ‘shop deals’ categories with icons, it displays related categories that can be filtered by option.

While May was a relatively quiet month in terms of SERP feature tests, the common trend appears to have been the ‘shop deals’ related features in search results. Google seems to be doubling down on this segment, trying to push discoverability of merchant listings across various segments.

22 May

Google is now testing out various new forum-related extensions exclusively for Reddit. Instead of the standard sitelink treatment, Google is testing out 3 different variations with stacked greyed out answers, greyed out beside each other, and without the background. Also appearing as a normal search result.

20 May

Google is now testing out an extension of the knowledge panel section for companies with a rich cards section, similar to what appears for notable people. The section can also appear without a title, highlighting recent social posts and other related content such as videos.

02 May

Google is now testing out a “shop deals” banner for Mother’s Day, directing users to a page focused on gift ideas for moms. This test is part of a string of occasion-based banners that have been appearing as far back as October of 2023.

Apr 2024
26 Apr

Google has now altered the naming of the UK/European menu item from ‘Product Sites‘ to ‘Product websites‘. This change looks to be showing for all users within this region.

25 Apr

Google is currently doing various bits of testing related to the site name and URL for pages on mobile. When comparing to the current layout, I’m seeing changes to the size of the site name text, bolding of the entire URL, along with brand name bolding in the URL.

The clear trend for April was focused around testing for how snippets for websites appear on Google. There were tests focused around the favicon/site name/URL on mobile, the date snippet on desktop, along with sitelinks on mobile. This trend could point to upcoming changes to how Google’s search results look.

24 Apr

Google is now testing out some changes to the date snippet for pages on desktop within search results. Instead of the normal position and format beside the description, Google is testing positioning the date snippet beside the URL, rounding up to the nearest week or year, along with a combination of the two.

22 Apr

Google is now testing out an automatic extension of ads that feature the year the business was established in. Accompanying the year is an icon for a business, similar to the Google Business Profile icon.

18 Apr

Google is now testing out a featured snippets extension on mobile titled ‘People also say’. Within the examples I’ve seen, the People also say section features snippets from two other sites. Interestingly, when clicking ‘more results’, it actually takes you to the Perspectives filter, which was meant to have been replaced by Forums. This test is in a similar vein to this test from 2020, with a ‘See what other sites say’ extension that appeared.

16 Apr

Google is now testing an additional set of menu items for eCommerce queries between the standard menu items and the refinement bubbles. Each category in the menu is unrelated to the query, taking you to a SERP similar to the shop deals experience.

12 Apr

Google is now testing out new functionality for product grid results on mobile, introducing a way to either ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ results that appear in the grid for a personalised experience. So far, I’ve discovered 3 different variations of this test: a like/dislike icon, a more like this button with a cross, and a like icon with a cross. If a user likes the product, other liked products are loaded (if signed in) and fewer results shown in future for a dislike.

11 Apr

Google is now testing out a new mobile format for branded sitelinks. Instead of the standard sitelink with light lines, there is currently an active test with darker lines that shows alongside other features and also in blue to match the title. Here’s what the test looks like on desktop.

08 Apr

Google is now testing out a larger font size within the search bar on mobile. Here’s what the normal font size looks like for comparison.

06 Apr

Google is now testing a ‘Short Videos’ menu item on mobile for users. This is after the recent launch of ‘Forums’ and also the addition of ‘Products’ and ‘Product Sites’ in the UK. While the Short Videos unit appears globally for all users, the new menu item test is an expansion of this feature by featuring an entire feed dedicated to the videos.

Mar 2024
27 Mar

Google is again testing out the blue highlight (instead of bolding) for normal listings. This test last appeared in November of last year, featuring a lighter blue highlight at the time. It is again only appearing on mobile devices.

24 Mar

In continuation of the image thumbnail testing, Google is now displaying a new mobile format for image previews that link to the category (like the default approach), but with pricing overlays and without the carousel from January.

21 Mar

Google has now launched the ‘Product’ and ‘Product Sites’ search menu tabs in the UK and some parts of Europe. Last week, it was reported that the ‘Perspectives’ menu was changed to ‘Forums’ (note: this is only in the US), with the new UK menu items being a continuation of this.

The launch of the new menu items in the UK/parts of Europe ended up being the most significant change in Google’s search results for the month. With there now being a clear trend in Google trialling out segmenting search results more heavily for users according to content format.

19 Mar

Google looks to be testing out the placement of the ‘things to know’ drop-downs on desktop. Instead of showing the drop-downs (that mimic the people also ask unit) in the right hand column, they are moving the unit to the main section of search results.

Feb 2024
26 Feb

Google is now testing a new carousel on mobile for most-read articles. The articles featured in the most-read articles section look to be articles that are already ranking prominently in Google’s search results. Also showing on desktop here.

22 Feb

Google is now testing out a popular opinions carousel on desktop. Different to the perspectives carousel, the popular opinions carousel seems to only feature links to articles (rather than social media and forum posts).

20 Feb

Similar to the test from November of 2023, Google is now testing out a new variation for the mobile description snippet fade. Unlike the previous test, the latest variation doesn’t include the subtle blue line that appeared at the top.

16 Feb

There appears to be a bug on Google where queries that have the word ‘threads’ in them are generating the forums rich results treatment for non-forum pages. Examples I’ve seen so far include for eCommerce sites and also even blog articles.

15 Feb

Google is now showing a new Presidents Day Shop Deals banner in the US for all users when relevant. This is the 3rd customised banner Google has shown, with the most recent being the banner for Valentine’s Day and the more general Shop Deals banner.

15 Feb

Google is now testing out the ‘accepted payments’ snippet on desktop for eligible eCommerce pages. There has been several iterations of this test, with this being the first to feature options other than Google Pay such as PayPal and Apple Pay.

07 Feb

Google is now testing out adding additional items to the standard search bar arrangement. This includes a menu item for Web Results and also one for Forums.

This test ended up being the most significant for the month, with Google announcing in the following month that ‘Forums’ would be replacing ‘Perspectives’ in the US. Web Results still remains as a test, which will likely continue with the introduction of AI-powered overviews in Search.

04 Feb

Google is now testing new mobile search bar variants. Similar to the desktop search bar test from last month, Google is testing out a blue magnifying glass, along with a blue selected item and a grey variant.

Jan 2024
31 Jan

Google is now testing out a pricing and discounts overlay for image previews for category pages on mobile. Instead of the standard approach with just multiple images showing as the preview, they are showing the price as an extension with recent price changes included (likely based on product feeds rather than HTML). A similar test to this pricing overlay test surfaced in June of 2023, which actually dates back to 2021.

29 Jan

Google has now launched discount rich results on all devices in the US. This is after a short stint of testing that started in November of 2023. I’m now primarily seeing the coupon variant, which could be considered a coupon rich result as a subset of the discount rich result category. Here’s what it looks on mobile compared to desktop.

26 Jan

Google is now testing out a new “shop deals” banner for Valentine’s Day. Another variation of this test is showing only the category links. See more history on the shop deals banner test and launch in the US.

18 Jan

Google is now testing out a new format for multi-image thumbnails that provide links directly to product pages. I have seen a similar format being tested for sites like Pinterest and Restaurant-related results, but never for an eCommerce site before. First spotted by Malte Landwehr and Alexander Außermayr in German/Austrian SERPs.

11 Jan

Google is testing out a new desktop search bar variation where the selected menu item has blue text and background. This is compared to the standard desktop search bar featuring options by popularity.

06 Jan

Google is testing a new string of branded sitelink variants on mobile, on the back of the desktop branded sitelink tests from November last year. When comparing against the standard format, there are 4 variations: grey arrows, grey arrows within a grey circle, black text, and black text with blue arrows. The last time Google completed branded sitelink tests on mobile was in July of 2023, with a variant using bolding for the text and a grey blocked background.

Dec 2023
21 Dec

Google is now testing out a new display for the structured data component of a product page rich result on mobile. Instead of showing the normal snippet with a review rating and grey ‘in stock’ text, they’re instead testing out moving the price to the front in bold and making the ‘in stock’ text green, with the rating not included.

09 Dec

As an extension of the discount rich results test from last month, Google is now testing out a similar format for loyalty programs with a different symbol assigned to the snippet. Instead of displaying just a price tag icon, the icon is transformed into a heart. The discounts rich result is managed within Marketing > Promotions in GMC, whereas I believe the loyalty programs rich result is managed in Growth > Manage programs. This was first spotted by Brian Freiesleben.

Nov 2023
30 Nov

In continuation from the test from October, Google is now testing out a new Google Pay label associated with organic results. Last month, Google was testing Pay accepted as the text, with this month changing it to Pay encrypted checkout. Here is what it looks like on mobile.

28 Nov

Google is now testing out a new type of rich result for discounts via Merchant Center. This is part of a slew of related features Google is testing, similar to the recently announced Knowledge Panel promotions section which is still yet to appear. When the full discount rich result treatment shows, it displays a blue price tag along with the deal and a coupon code. It can also appear without the coupon code, similar to this test from June.

21 Nov

Google now looks to have launched social media follower counts for profiles and like/comment/view counts for the posts themselves in all regions. This is after recent testing on desktop for the first time in August and dates back to April on mobile, with the social counts now displaying on both mobile and desktop by default.

While the trend for testing and launches in November of 2023 was heavily focused around eCommerce-related features, the launch that created the most buzz related to the Search appearance for social media profiles. This is a nice addition to search results that could assist with whether a user decides to click-through or not.

19 Nov

In extension of the blue highlight test from September for standard organic listings, Google is now testing out a new lighter variation on mobile. Here’s what this same query looks like with the blue variation.

17 Nov

Google is now testing out a subtle blue line that appears next to the title link for organic results on mobile when scrolling. The blue line slowly disappears once the scrolling stops. While scrolling, the description colour also goes lighter. Here’s a screenshot of when it appears.

14 Nov

Google is now testing out a new format for branded sitelinks on desktop. The test involves three separate variations featuring upward facing arrows in blue and grey, along with a more familiar variation that features dividers between each internally linked page. This was first discovered by Scott Shorter who messaged me on LinkedIn.

14 Nov

After the official announcement for the feature last week, and the test from October, Google is now displaying a new “shop deals” banner test. The new banner is slightly different to the original, featuring a more narrow banner and different CTA.

04 Nov

Google has now launched Seller Ratings for organic listings on desktop in the US. This is following the mobile rollout in the US in September, with Seller Ratings now being eligible to show for eCommerce sites across all devices.

04 Nov

Google looks to have now launched the ‘filter by’ lefthand menu on desktop for all eCommerce queries in the US. Previously, the menu would show as a test, but it now looks to be showing as the default.

Oct 2023
31 Oct

Google is now testing out a ‘trending seller‘ attribute with an upward trending arrow on mobile. The label is likely based on data collected via Merchant Center, showing sites with increasing popularity.

21 Oct

Google is now testing out a ‘Google Pay Accepted‘ rich result attribute for eligible organic listings. This was first discovered by Khushal Bherwani who messaged me about the test, with there also being another test variant without the coloured icon.

18 Oct

Google looks to be doing a push to encourage users to search for deals with a new banner in the middle of organic search results. Clicking the banner takes you to a “shop deals” query which again features the same banner styling with custom results, where you’re then able to navigate deal categories. The mobile version looks different.

This test ended up being an official announcement from Google in November. The launch was a set of features to allow users to finding holiday shopping deals on Google, including saving products, tracking prices, and getting price insights in Chrome and Search.

08 Oct

Google is now testing showing Seller Ratings for organic listings on desktop for the first time. There has been extensive testing of this feature in the US on mobile dating back to 2021, with Google recently launching this feature on mobile.

05 Oct

Google looks to now be testing a product search function for branded queries in the US. I feel like I’ve seen this in the past but haven’t documented it yet, with this finding being sent to me by Liam Challoner. This test also coincides with the ‘latest from’ carousel from last month.

Sep 2023
27 Sep

Google is now running a test on desktop which features content for a site in a carousel for branded queries that is normally a feature for news sites. For example, when searching for “officeworks” on desktop the carousel doesn’t normally appear, but does with the test. As a small caveat, the carousel that features the text: ‘Latest from example.com’ can appear for broader content sites also, such as for Finder (which isn’t part of this test).

21 Sep

Google is now testing out a new colour for links in their desktop search results. Instead of the standard dark blue, a new test involving a lighter variant is now showing.

18 Sep

For the first time outside of the Search Generative Experience on mobile, I’m now seeing a test which prompts users to ‘turn on’ AI-generated answers on Google, right below featured snippets. The three different tests that I’m seeing have a similar format, with descriptions that read: “Learn any topic faster with AI-generated key points from web pages“, “Get a little help from AI with your next big idea” and “Get the key points of a webpage with generative AI“. Last week, we saw a desktop pop-up which read “Search with an AI-powered boost“.

This test ended up being the most significant of the month and still went under the radar to some extent. What this test tells us is that Google is still determined to stick to their schedule for introducing the SGE to normal search results at the end of the year.

17 Sep

Google is now testing a new mobile format for Perspectives where the carousel extends upon a Featured Snippet at the top of the page. Clicking a result takes you to the Perspectives filter page which is the standard experience for this feature.

10 Sep

Google now looks to have rolled out Seller Ratings for organic listings on mobile in the US. This test dates back to June of 2021, with the display that Google has stuck to for launch not looking too different to the original test. Google has since done various bits of testing with different displays for Seller Rating reviews and Top Quality Store labelling.

08 Sep

Google is again testing out new headings for PAA on desktop. The new additions have the section titled as more questions and questions related to your search. In March, we had 4 different related tests: People are also asking, Related questions, Others want to know, and More to ask. This makes 6 in total.

Aug 2023
30 Aug

Google is now testing a ‘mentioned in’ drop-down in desktop search results, similar to how FAQ rich results would appear for websites. Clicking the ‘mentioned in’ links takes you directly to the reference content on other sites using scroll-to-text. Google looks to be testing two different variations of this test, one with the drop-down closed by default and another that is open by default and can’t be closed.

The ‘mentioned in’ test was the most significant test of August 2023. This test in particular was of great interest to the SEO community considering it looks similar to FAQ rich results, which were meant to be removed on both mobile and desktop a month ago for the vast majority of queries.

21 Aug

In a continuation of recently testing related to Top Quality Store’s on Google, another mobile test has appeared which only features a Google Shopping icon beside the Site Name. Different to the other tests, this icon does not link anywhere.

08 Aug

Similar to the string of tests that appeared in June, Google is now testing a ‘star store’ label and icon for stores that meet the Top Quality Store requirements. This same round of testing includes a more simple variation and another variation with the Top Quality Store text.

07 Aug

Originally appearing on mobile in April, Google is now testing social media accounts with profile photos and follower counts on desktop. The desktop test is the same as mobile, having the social platform logo in the bottom right corner of the image. This round of testing has a similar view/like/comment etc. count to results in the perspectives filter.

Jul 2023
29 Jul

Google is now testing out a new symbol for the ‘about this result’ icon attached to features in Google’s search results. The icon normally appears with 3 dots in a line, with this test showing the dots in a larger triangular formation.

22 Jul

Google is now testing a new mobile format for branded sitelinks. Instead of the branded sitelinks with large text, Google is testing a smaller format with blue in bold with a grey background.

19 Jul

Google is now testing out a new mobile organic link format for web page listings. The new link test shows organic results on mobile with dark links featuring a grey underline. This is compared to the normal format which has links in blue with no underline included.

Jun 2023
15 Jun

Google is now doing heavy testing across various eCommerce category pages on mobile, showing various tests that we have seen in different forms. An article I wrote in 2021 features similar tests related to the seller rating treatment, with the latest examples showing a top quality store tag based on this feature, a seller rating count (along with a combination of the two), a clearance sale tag, along with the pricing overlay test that I’ve documented in more recent times.

10 Jun

Google has now officially launched the Perspectives filter on mobile in the US. This is exactly one month after Google made the announcement for the filter. I like the filter overall but feels like it’s missing functionality to make it truly useful.

02 Jun

Google is now displaying a horizontal treatment of various domains and website snippets on desktop appearing within a featured snippet. From what I have seen, Google is displaying up to 3 different websites and also 2 websites horizontally, similar to the original ‘perspectives’ test that was exclusively on mobile.

May 2023
25 May

Google is now testing an engaging section in the righthand column on desktop for steps related to a topic. The section includes a colourful icon titled ‘suggestions for your search’, with each step providing additional suggested searches on hover. This was first discovered by Krinal Mehta and also looks to be appearing in a non-interactive format.

16 May

Google is testing a new display for favicons on mobile with a blue gradient circle and also a multi-coloured format for the outline. This is opposed to the standard mobile and desktop display which is currently a grey circular background. Khushal Bherwani discovered a new variation with a dark outline in November.

Apr 2023
18 Apr

Google’s blue highlight for featured snippets has now expanded to People Also Ask results. We saw blue highlights for PAA results as a test last month, with the highlight now showing for all users by default.

18 Apr

Google now looks to be showing a pricing overlay for some eCommerce category pages in US search results. From what I can see, it is very rare to show currently and is based on HTML from the page, not product feeds or Schema. It will show as an overlay for pricing on the multi-image thumbnail treatment. This is based on a test that I wrote about in 2021.

14 Apr

Google is now showing a grey truck icon assigned to ‘delivery’ rich results as a test in US search results. Delivery rich results first started showing in late 2022 in the US, with the icon being a new test that expands upon details provided. The same truck icon can also be seen in some ad formats.

03 Apr

Google is testing scrollable feeds for map pack results which prevents the need for the local finder. Scrollable feeds are a new feature of Search which first started with the popular products grid, then expanding to features such as the image pack, and now it looks like map pack results could be next.

Mar 2023
27 Mar

Google is now testing showing blue highlights alongside bolding within People Also Ask results. We saw Google rollout blue highlighting within featured snippets earlier in the month, with the next logical step for expansion being within PAA. As a note, while the blue highlight can appear alongside featured snippets, it can also appear separately for queries. As a hint to when the test appears, the PAA question font will show differently.

21 Mar

Google has now rolled out the ‘Reviews aren’t verified by Google Search‘ icon in web search listings for review snippets and also within knowledge panels in both the UK and parts of Europe. This test has been spotted in various areas of Search in the past, with the latest discovery being from Shameem Adhikarath in web search.

17 Mar

Google is now testing a divider for organic listings on mobile. The divider either segments the title link and description, or for the favicon, site name, and URL against the title link and description. Example queries here and here.

07 Mar

Google is now testing new headings for People Also Ask results on both mobile and desktop. Instead of showing the title “People also ask”, Google is testing 4 different titles: People are also asking, Related questions, Others want to know, and More to ask. Kenichi Suzuki shared the More to ask variation with me.

04 Mar

Google has now rolled out blue highlighting of content and larger font within paragraph featured snippets. This test dates back to September of 2022, where the highlight would should in both yellow and blue. On mobile, featured snippets still appear as bold (the previous approach) alongside the blue highlight. This launch looks to apply in most cases of full-width paragraph featured snippets, but the previous approach does appear in some instances too, when appearing within knowledge panels. Also spotted by Krinal Mehta.

The rollout of blue highlighting of content in featured snippets ended up being the story of the month. While Google doesn’t show the highlight in all instances, it is the primary method that Google is now using. Another test I noticed later on in the month was related to this update, with the highlight starting to be shown for PAA results.

01 Mar

Similar to how Neeva has been presenting AI results, Microsoft Bing is now testing summarising content from the web through AI and generating snippets with footnotes and sources. When hovering over sources, bubble links appear for pages. I was able to trigger this test across various queries such as for “spark plug replacement cost“, “engine mount replacement cost” and “facts about cats“. Bing was actually an early adopter of this format in 2018.

Feb 2023
20 Feb

Similar to the mobile menu item test from earlier in the month, Google is now testing a similar simplified format on desktop with no icons. This is different to the ongoing desktop menu item test, which has blue icons to accompany the text.

10 Feb

Google is now testing a new ‘trending’ label attached to some People Also Ask (PAA) results in Search. I’m able to see this new label associated with some PAA results for queries such as “new bing” and “google bard“. With each PAA result that has the ‘trending’ label attached, they appear to be showing for articles that were written within the past day or so.

February of 2022 was a quiet month overall for Google tests (likely because of the Bard announcement), with the ‘trending’ label being the biggest test that surfaced for PAA results. The test didn’t appear for most users but did create some buzz when it did.

07 Feb

With a slight variation of the mobile site name and favicon format, Google is now showing site names in bold and lighter URLs. There’s been quite a few tests with this format in the past, primarily focused around favicon sizing.

06 Feb

Google now looks to be showing people cards on mobile in the US, a feature that has been available in India and a few other countries for a while now. The card can either show visibly at the top of search results, lower down the page on its own or within a carousel, with with all details submitted being visible once clicked.

05 Feb

On the back of ongoing search bar menu item tests on mobile, Google is now testing a new simplified format. The new format has no dividers, which is different to the ongoing test which has a blue outline and icons. The default format continues to have an underline for the selected item.

Jan 2023
16 Jan

Google is now testing a new display for multi-image thumbnails in desktop search results. Normally, Google would place multiple images between the title and description of the web page, whereas Google is showing them aligned to the right in this test.

Dec 2022
13 Dec

Google is now completing testing of a new Featured Snippet type that has similarities to People Also Ask results. I’ve named this test a Featured PAA Snippet, with a deep-dive being conducted on my blog. The primary differences with this test are having Featured Snippets appearing lower than the top result, having a question included (similar to PAA), being directly above the PAA box, and more.

12 Dec

Google is now testing out new autocomplete functionality that includes various pieces of Knowledge Graph information. This was discovered by Alexander Außermayr who created this video with various examples such as for names of people and Google Business Profile details. Alexander’s test variation includes a ‘more’ button alongside the title, description and image, but my variation has that missing. This test is an extension of the packed autocomplete that we first saw in 2021. This test was originally covered by SEO Südwest in October.

02 Dec

Google appears to have rolled out continuous scroll on desktop in the US for some queries. I first reported on Google testing continuous scroll on desktop in May, with the latest variation that’s now launched having a ‘more results’ tab that can appear instead of the previous ‘see more’ tab. Again, Google launched continuous scroll on mobile in October of 2021, with this launch following that same trend, but now with a focus on specific queries (primarily e-commerce queries).

Nov 2022
24 Nov

Google has now moved the placement of the ‘Things to know’ drop-downs to the right-hand column on desktop when triggered. Previously integrated with 10-blue-links, it’s now either shown by itself or merged with a Knowledge Panel (sometimes without the title included). This was a test from September according to SER, but is now showing for all users. This change doesn’t impact the ‘Buying guide’ feature which looks similar. Google has made similar changes in the past with placing Featured Snippet content in the right-hand column.

22 Nov

Google is now testing a new format and functionality for People Also Ask results on desktop. In the test, I’m seeing two columns for questions (rather than a single column), along with questions having a blue background once selected and a wider display. Google has experimented with various PAA displays in recent months, with the latest launch being around September 12th with the double up on interaction.

10 Nov

Google has now launched new functionality in the Images tab. The new scrollable feed functionality is similar to what is currently in place for the Image Pack, Product Carousels and images in PAA, dating back to August of 2021. The display in Images is now slightly different, with a sleek design that makes scrolling through image results more functional.

04 Nov

Google is now testing showing favicon’s with site names in desktop search results. Favicon’s on desktop first rolled out in 2020 and were eventually rolled back, likely due to push back. The current favicon desktop test is similar to the rounded edge background test on mobile from June. Also reported on by SER.

Sep 2022
11 Sep

Google is now running a test focused on highlighting relevant content in Featured Snippets and PAA results. This test is a replacement of the bolding functionality, which first rolled out in July of 2021. The highlight functionality for web pages dates back to 2019, originally focused on on-site content with scroll-to-text on mobile with AMP. The test shows with either a yellow or blue highlight, often presenting the text in a larger font.

06 Sep

Google is running a new test variation focused on knowledge panel rich cards. Previously, the test was focused on only celebrity rich cards. The test has now expanded with several new variations for queries such as “pepsi“, “avocado” and “great white shark“. For celebrities, here’s what it looked like in July, and here’s one new variation and another variation.

Aug 2022
28 Aug

Google is testing a new label associated with content that is quick to read on both mobile and desktop. The label appears with either the text ‘Quick Read’ or ‘< 5 Min Read’, with several different combinations of each. Including ‘Quick Read’ on mobile and desktop, ‘< 5 Min Read’ on desktop in grey and in blue, a grey ‘Quick Read’ variation on mobile, and a ‘QUICK READ’ in uppercase on desktop (6 in total).

The “quick reads” test came in various forms throughout the month and resulted in a significant amount of interest from SEOs. In particular, there was a lot of discussion going back to word count as a ranking factor, which Google has consistency debunked. If Google rolls out this test, will shorter articles be used as an optimisation tactic? Only time will tell.

16 Aug

Google is again doing widespread testing of the GBP review carousel feature in search results. The carousel is titled ‘find places through reviews’ and triggers when relevant keywords are within review content. This test first appeared at the beginning of July, and continues to appear on both mobile and desktop.

11 Aug

Google is running several mobile sitelink tests focused around both branded and non-branded sitelinks for organic listings and ads. The test variations that I’m seeing are either coloured variations with sitelinks in a bubble (white, grey and blue) along with a stacked variation with lines between each item.

03 Aug

Google is currently running a mobile test for Featured Snippets with a ‘Perspectives’ label. The test shows other alternate answers to the query, with 2 variations appearing at this time. While the ‘Perspectives’ label is new, this test was virtually the same back in June (minus the label and more simplified) with 3 different variations. ‘Perspectives’ was first reported on by SER.

Jul 2022
26 Jul

Google is running various tests focused around Product Listing Ads in Search on mobile. I’m seeing tests where the size of the PLAs varies dramatically, along with tests where the individual ads have different shades of colour such as a fade to dark variation.

18 Jul

Google is currently doing a lot of testing focused around the People Also Ask box. Last week there was a significant drop in PAA boxes in search (desktop in particular), and now I’m seeing testing with either 5 questions or up to 6 questions. Normally, questions in the PAA box range from 2-4 visible questions.

14 Jul

Google is continuing to use more Merchant Center feed information in organic results in this latest test. I’m now seeing an ‘x-day returns’ snippet appearing for some web pages in the US on both mobile and desktop. Some example queries can be found here and here. This is similar to how organic seller ratings operate, using information from feeds matched up with organic listings.

14 Jul

In a highly visual desktop test, Google is now showing rich cards at the top of search results for celebrity names. The rich cards include sections such as an image with a Wikipedia description overlaid, links to popular articles, videos, and top searches (such as age or net worth). Here’s examples for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Tony Hawk, Doja Cat and Snoop Dogg.

Out of all tests during the month of July, the rich cards test for celebrities would have to be the most significant of the lot. This test was visible on both mobile and desktop and was very engaging for users. There was some concern around Google using insufficient crediting for sources within this feature, but there was nothing particular new about these concerns.

08 Jul

After being visible in US search results for roughly a year (in varying capacities), Google now looks to be testing author carousels in additional regions. For instance, I’m now able to see the author carousel in a test within Australia for this and this query.

04 Jul

Google is again testing showing the ‘buying guide‘ and ‘things to know‘ features on desktop in the US. This is after an initial period of testing of both on desktop in March of this year. Both features have been available on mobile since late 2021, with a desktop rollout likely not being too far off now.

01 Jul

Similar to Google’s query carousel that first started showing in 2020, Google now appears to be testing something similar in web search that are detached my Google Business Profiles. The new test is labelled “Find places through reviews” near to the searchers location, with a selection of GBP reviews that reference the search term. Other example queries here and here.

Jun 2022
23 Jun

Google now looks to have the capability to show up to 5 People Also Ask results within the autocomplete dropdown. Normally, Google will show the same amount of PAA in autocomplete that appears in search results (up to 4). This means Google can show an additional question in autocomplete compared to what appears in Search. Example queries showing 5 PAA results can found here and here.

22 Jun

Being tied closely to mobile tests from earlier this year, Google’s favicon sizing testing in continuing with a rounded edge and grey background variation. This test applies to both organic results and ads, and out of each of the variations I’ve seen I like this variation best.

20 Jun

The trend of mobile ad label variation tests has continued into June, with the latest label having the word ‘promoted’ instead of ‘ad’. Last month, Google was testing variations that included the words ‘advertisement’ and ‘sponsored’.

June of 2022 featured a significant amount of impactful tests in Google Search. Out of all tests, the biggest trend of the month related to mobile and the various tests that focused around how the URLs are presented, labels for ads, and also the favicon. Each of the 3 different test variations overlapped with one another and were consistent throughout the month.

16 Jun

Google is continuing to do more testing with how their search bar appears on desktop, with the latest test showing the selected search bar menu in black (showing as blue last month).

16 Jun

Google is doing more testing where they’re showing multiple website answers within some Featured Snippets, this time on mobile devices. This was first written about on SER. So far I’ve been able to spot 3 variations, featuring results boxed within grids and stacked on top of each other. Similar testing was conducted in April on desktop.

09 Jun

After some initial testing of scrollable feeds for images within image packs, Google has now expanded this test beyond just image packs. I’m now seeing this same functionality applied to both Featured Snippets and also Knowledge Panels that have images in another test.

08 Jun

Google appears to have now rolled out Featured Snippet bubble links to all users internationally. This feature was previously only available in the US as of September of 2021, but has now expanded to more regions. For example, I’m able to see bubble links for this query and this query within Australia. A reminder that this feature will only appear for links to either Wikipedia or for internal pages.

May 2022
26 May

Google is doing more testing with how the menu icons appear in the search bar on desktop. In the latest test, Google is boxing in the menu items with a blue background once selected (instead of the standard blue underline with coloured icon).

17 May

On the back of a string of mobile favicon and URL tests in March, Google is now testing several variations of ad label changes along with variations involving the URL and favicon (similar to the tests from March). The ad-focused tests that are now showing feature different titles for the label such as “sponsored” and “advertisement” along with a boxed-in variation.

02 May

Google is now testing continuous scroll within desktop search results. Continuous scroll first launched on mobile in October of 2021, and it looks like the same could also likely come to desktop. Within the latest test, continuous scroll is enabled for several pages and then ends with a ‘see more’ tab.

The continuous scroll test on desktop would be considered the biggest test of the month of May. Many SEO professionals appeared to support this change from Google, so we could very well see this feature roll out in the near future.

Apr 2022
20 Apr

Google has now launched scroll-to-text sitelinks on desktop in the US for organic listings. This was originally a test from Nov 2021 which I wrote about in detail, and again appeared in Mar 2022 with a stacked treatment (a different variation to launch).

The launch of scroll-to-text sitelinks in the US was the biggest launch for April, which was a quiet month for Google tests overall. This is a launch that has gone under the radar for most, with there not being a noticeable uplift in sitelinks appearing on desktop. Instead, the method of extraction has just been altered slightly.

16 Apr

Google is now showing a new variation of the search bar menu icons on desktop. This new variation features alignment to the left in a vertical formation with large icons. A previous test from Feb 2022 had placement to the right.

Mar 2022
27 Mar

On the back of image and video thumbnails on desktop appearing larger earlier in the month, Google is taking this test to the extreme by testing even larger previews.

26 Mar

Google’s scroll-to sitelinks test has now returned on desktop, with a new stacked treatment that looks to be more fine-tuned. This test first appeared on Nov 11th and I wrote about in more detail on my blog shortly after.

20 Mar

After a short break, Google is again testing new design variations for the desktop search bar. So far, I’ve seen up to 6 different variations of Google’s desktop search bar in recent months. The latest variations include a search box that is a square (rather than rounded) and also removal of icons from the menu items with some colour changes included.

17 Mar

Google is continuing to experiment with the favicon and URL preview of search results on mobile. Variation #2 of this test was first spotted last month, with the test now expanding with a new variation which doesn’t include bolding of the repeating domain name and a smaller favicon.

11 Mar

After initial testing a couple of days ago with the ‘buying guide’ feature appearing on desktop, I’m now seeing the same for the ‘things to know’ feature. Both look quite similar on desktop, resembling a PAA box. The ‘things to know’ feature first started appearing on mobile shortly after Google’s Search On event announcement in 2021.

While March of 2022 was a packed month for tests on Google, the stand out test would have to be seeing both the ‘buying guide’ and ‘things to know’ features both appearing on desktop. Both tests were quite visible throughout the month but are still only visible on mobile for all users, with desktop likely to return by default in the near future.

10 Mar

Image and video thumbnails on desktop are appearing as larger in a new test. This test builds upon a change where desktop image thumbnails started to be included in snippets, a feature that has been available on mobile for quite some time.

09 Mar

The People Also Ask box is showing showing twice on Google in a new test. The second PAA box seems to be appearing at the bottom of search results in most instances, even below the final set of ads. It is worth noting that the second PAA box has different questions, pointing to the need to serve a different intent.

08 Mar

A ‘buying guide’ section is appearing on desktop in a new test. This same feature was first spotted last month on mobile, and now it looks like the same could be coming to desktop soon.

07 Mar

Google Ad URL test where either sections or the entire URL is showing as lighter. I’ve seen similar tests as this in previous years, with the current variation not applying to organic listings at this time.

06 Mar

Google has made some changes to how the AMP version of Web Story URLs are shown in search results. The new additions includes instructions for use and also the domain name and logo featured at the bottom.

Feb 2022
27 Feb

Google’s search bar tabs are again showing as aligned to the right on desktop for some users in a new test. This test was showing roughly a year ago and looks to have returned. This variation has a more simple design without the icons accompanying the text, with only having ‘Images’ and ‘Videos’ visible and all others hidden behind the ‘More’ drop-down.

While February was a slow month for Google testing and rolling out new features, the desktop search bar test was the most significant for the month. This test was appearing quite often throughout February and into March, with another variation of this same test showing more menu items that aren’t hidden behind the drop-down.

16 Feb

Google is doing more testing of Suggested Clips for Featured Snippets after several new variations appeared in December of 2021. The latest variations feature a label at the top left of the video, along with a bubble label that pops out as a marker for the section.

Jan 2022
31 Jan

Despite an official rollout last month, Google looks to again be testing the old map pack display in some instances. Google confirmed the full-width rollout was coming on December 9th, which then officially came on December 12th, and I’m now seeing a mixture among the two.

27 Jan

Google’s desktop search bar overhaul testing has returned this month, this time with a subtle difference in the search bar where there is an oval shaped shadow effect. My blog post has been updated to reflect the new variation.

26 Jan

Another variation of Google’s ‘also covered on this page’ test for Featured Snippets. This variation of the test features the scroll-to-text links feature prominently stacked on the righthand side of the Featured Snippet. This test makes use of the new full-width SERP display that Google now uses for certain features.

06 Jan

Product price approximations for pages that feature product lists have now rolled out in US search results. This was a test that first appeared on mobile in September of 2021 and is now available by default across all devices.

06 Jan

The price approximations rollout in the US was the most significant SERP change for January. This change also brought reports that the new snippets appear in Google Search Console within the Search Appearance report categorised as ‘Product Rich Results’.

Dec 2021
23 Dec

After Google rolled out result indenting as the default in September of 2021, there is now more testing of the treatment. In this test, Google is testing the complete removal of the URL for the indented results.

21 Dec

Another variation of Google’s desktop search bar test, where there are some subtle differences focused around colour (input query and icons) and also the divider is using a shadow effect.

15 Dec

The full-width SERP trend continues, with Google now showing some Featured Snippets as full-width. The full-width Featured Snippet treatment appears only when images aren’t included and it isn’t a double Featured Snippet.

12 Dec

Google has rolled out full-width Map Packs as of today after months of testing. Full-width Image Packs are also included in this rollout.

12 Dec

Google is testing a design overhaul for their desktop search bar, included in the test are some elements that I’ve seen in the past and others that are brand new. At the same time as this significant desktop search bar test, Google has actually rolled out a test that involved a specific design for People Also Ask duplication that appears in the drop-down.

12 Dec

Google’s testing of the desktop search bar overhaul was the most significant trend of the month. During this testing period, Google also rolled out PAA duplication within autocomplete. Throughout the month, there was several different variations of the desktop search bar focused around several different elements which I covered in my blog post above.

08 Dec

Another variation of the eCommerce category page test on mobile from September of 2021. This test builds on the original, showing more specifics around how the price approximation is calculated. For example, there could be 40 products in the category, but only 20 on the indexed page. This means the approximation is based on the 20 indexed results.

07 Dec

Google is testing a new format for Suggested Clips in Featured Snippets on both mobile and desktop. The test builds upon a change rolled out in July of 2020 where transcriptions are added to search results. In this test, the alignment of the video is to the left with transcription text on the right, along with details of the clip length and also text added to the video marker labelled “starts here”.

06 Dec

Google is testing a new mobile format for ‘Short Videos’ in their search results. The new format looks very similar to the ‘Visual Stories’ unit (exclusively for web stories), which Google has recently increased the prominence of.

Nov 2021
21 Nov

Google is again testing a packed autocomplete on second click, featuring 12 search suggestions, 3 PAA questions (with a grey background), and also 4 PASF results. There has been several other similar tests in recent months, with the commonality being the duplication of the PAA questions from the main search results.

20 Nov

Google has now rolled out ‘Key Moments’ on desktop for standalone YouTube videos (when not part of a carousel). This was launched on mobile on March 22nd and is now also reflected on desktop.

17 Nov

Another new keyword tags test variation, similar to the variation documented on November 1st (text is in bold) but now capitalising of the first letter of each word. This test makes the tags look more like headings.

15 Nov

More variations of the mobile ‘jump-to search’ functionality test featuring the upward facing blue arrow and ‘back to top’ text (with a blue background instead of white) at the top of the page instead of the bottom.

14 Nov

A mobile test with ‘jump-to search’ functionality using an upward facing blue arrow that expands with the text ‘back to top’. There’s been several variations of this test, including a blue magnifying glass and grey arrow, along with the blue magnifying glass that expands to include the text ‘edit search’. This variation is similar to a test from 2016.

11 Nov

A desktop test where scroll-to-text parameters are added to sitelinks for standard web search listings. This treatment has been increasingly used on features outside of for just Featured Snippets in recent years. Learn more about this test.

11 Nov

The ‘Scroll-to Sitelinks’ test was the most significant out of all tests throughout the month of November 2021. During this same month, Google has also started to bring back the ‘also covered on this page’ scroll-to-text links on Featured Snippets. This goes to show that Google is continuing their focus on scroll-to-text usage in their search results.

05 Nov

Google’s trend of full-width feature testing continues. This time with a quasi-knowledge panel result (looks like a Featured Snippet, but not labelled as such), with previous testing being for both Featured Snippets and the Map Pack.

01 Nov

A new keyword tags test variation is showing for some listings on mobile. The difference with this test is the bolding of the keyword tag content, making it appear more prominently for users. The keyword tags test dates back to earlier in 2021, with several appearances throughout the year.

Oct 2021
30 Oct

Another organic Seller Rating label variation is appearing for some listings on mobile. Similar to the test from September 25th, the new label variation is an extension of this by either using the text ‘STORE RATING’ or ‘STORE INFO’. We’ve now seen 4 different variations of the organic Seller Rating test since June of 2021.

26 Oct

A desktop test where Google’s autocomplete has People Also Ask results included in the drop-down that are a duplicate of the PAA results on the page. This test is quite similar to what I discovered during August, with the PAA addition being below the autocomplete suggestions (rather than beside).

19 Oct

A mobile test where the search bar font is larger than normal. It has been just over a year since Google focused on a series of mobile search bar tests, so there will likely be more to come.

13 Oct

A desktop test where videos become larger on hover, with the YouTube video description also being included in the preview. Feel like I’ve seen this test in the past at some point, so am adding to my timeline to document.

11 Oct

Another variation of the ‘also covered on this page’ Featured Snippets test, now showing with limits in place for the text snippet (using truncation) and a subtle divider. This test has been ongoing throughout 2021, last spotted on August 4th.

11 Oct

October of 2021 had a focus on Featured Snippet variations. Throughout the month, there was several Featured Snippet tests operating at the same time. The main tests related to the ‘also covered on this page’ jump-to links, paragraph-styled Featured Snippets spanning the entire page, along with bubble links appearing in a more refined capacity.

05 Oct

Featured Snippet test spanning the entire page for the paragraph snippet format. I last saw this test on Aug 5th at the same time that Google started testing scroll-to-text in purple.

03 Oct

‘Short Videos’ carousel test on desktop for relevant queries. This test first started appearing on mobile as a test in November of 2020. Similar to the mobile version, short videos on desktop can be sourced from YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and more.

Sep 2021
30 Sep

On the back of an announcement at Google’s ‘Search On’ event related to commerce and local, I’m now seeing a new label appearing in the map pack and local finder on mobile related to Offer Posts. This appears to be a test at this point, where I’m only able to trigger in few instances.

28 Sep

‘Updated today’ label now showing for all users within Google’s map pack and local finder. This feature is available on all devices, likely being related to when inventory/stock was last updated. This was a test from August of 2021.

27 Sep

eCommerce category page test where Google is simplifying pagination by showing roughly how many products and also providing an approximation for the price range for products within the category. This mobile test is based on HTML (not Schema), and is in the same vein as another series of tests from March of 2021.

27 Sep

September of 2021 had a series of tests focused on eCommerce category pages in particular. I discovered tests that appeared to use HTML to show roughly how many products are on the page, an approximate price range, and also the Seller Rating.

25 Sep

Google Seller rating test for organic listings where the overall rating based on product feeds is showing for some eCommerce category pages. This mobile test first started in June of 2021 and has now returned in a different form with a more discrete label located at the top of results (rather than the bottom). Also no longer displaying the amount of reviews where the rating is taken from.

20 Sep

Standard web search listings are now showing as indented for queries where the same domain appears multiple times. This was originally a test that started in July of 2021.

12 Sep

Some paragraph Featured Snippets in the US are now showing bubble links. This was a test from November of 2020 that received some initial backlash.

09 Sep

Testing of the “hear this out loud” button in Featured Snippets and People Also Ask results now showing in the US. This was a test from May of 2021 that first appeared in India.

Aug 2021
23 Aug

Product page test where URLs that use Schema have a ‘similar products’ extension appearing. This is a continuation from a test in March of 2021, which was originally for category pages.

22 Aug

Autocomplete test where there is a duplication of the top 3 People Also Ask results appearing in the drop-down. I’ve documented several tests in the past that have been similar to this and focused around autocomplete inclusions.

22 Aug

There ended up being several autocomplete-related tests throughout August of 2021. During this testing period, Google tested more autocomplete results (up to 15 in some cases), showing PAA results, and also PASF image thumbnails.

17 Aug

Google starts rolling out significant changes to web page titles in their search results. I covered this in more detail and was later confirmed by Google.

17 Aug

Wikipedia sitelink test where in instances that they rank for a query, they are receiving the full sitelink treatment. This treatment is normally reserved branded searches when ranking in the top position.

09 Aug

The latest version of Chrome is now showing scroll-to-text fragments in purple by default, instead of the usual yellow highlight. This can appear for some Knowledge Panels, free product listing article snippets, Featured Snippets, and more.

04 Aug

The ‘also covered on this page’ Featured Snippets test returns to US search results. Using algo-generated questions with scroll-to-text parameters. Currently 2 variations of this being tested.

Jul 2021
30 Jul

The ‘Discussions’ carousel for forum results test appears on desktop in the US. Showing favicons to identify different sites, along with the title and publish date. 6 results being visible in the carousel at a time.

22 Jul

Review snippets stopped showing for the vast majority of web pages that previously had them. This was confirmed to be a bug, which was then fixed 5 days later.

20 Jul

AMP icon stops showing on mobile as part of the Page Experience rollout. This included removal of the icon on standard web search listings, Top Stories, Discover, and Web Stories. A replacement for the AMP icon to signify a good Page Experience is expected.

16 Jul

Featured Snippet answer bolding starts showing for paragraph snippet text to make locating the answer quicker. This first started showing for list Featured Snippets in October of 2020, and now applies to paragraph Featured Snippets and People Also Ask paragraph snippets.

12 Jul

Mobile jump-to search icon test with a blue magnifying glass and a grey upward facing arrow. Test designed to make it faster for users to reach the search bar after submitting a search on mobile devices.

12 Jul

The jump-to search mobile functionality was a reoccurring test throughout the month, with several variations being discovered. Including a grey upward facing arrow, the blue magnifying glass, and also the ‘edit search’ variation of the magnifying glass.