New Google user interface experiments

For a few weeks now number one web search engine Google is testing a new UI (User Interface). Google headquarters have confirmed the news and speculations are getting hot in the search engine optimization and marketing community.
The new Google UI experiment can be seen while searching for any term. The appearances of modified organic listings are totally random but clearing up your cookies, yes search engines are spying on you, will give your browser a new Google ID then eventually let you see more of the new UI organic results.

So far usability and design changes noticed across multiple browsers are:

• Integration of paid listings (Adwords Pay per click) with natural organic listing.
• Numbered search results, for the first time Google shows figures. This never happened before.
• More direct links to websites internal pages. This one was reported to me, I have never experienced it.
• As for a good marketing test: a user feedback asking you if you are satisfied with the result page.
• A not so new design, see screenshot below. Not so new since this is an old interface and could be a simple glitch during UI tests.

So why Google would like to switch to a new interface while the slick, pure and somehow design less Google look is entirely part of the search engine’s success?
The answer is probably once again somewhere in the competition against Yahoo and MSN.

Google’s income is based almost solely on advertisement (over 90%). The search engine benefits from a strong community of followers and turns all of its marketing ideas into a success for the past few years, when it comes to pure search because obviously Froogle would not be called a success so far. Still something is missing, no social networking tool, no portal and barely news search. No value added in Google stock shares except for its core application, the search engine when disclosing Gmail definitely lifted up a humongous marketing goal: defeating MSN and Yahoo where their strength is, building communities and mark up all their sponsors efforts through a gigantic and diversified network utilizing instant messengers, news, even hosting and more. Search engine Google is attacking MSN and Yahoo on their holy land and the new User Interface test I only a tiny part of a much bigger marketing plan.