Google Test Adds Website Names, Subtracts URLs in Search Results

by Danny Goodwin, June 13, 2011 Comments

Google appears to be testing a new look for search results, adding the name of popular websites including LinkedIn, Facebook, Apple, Wikipedia, Amazon.com, Yahoo, and Bing next to the page's URL. In some cases, Google replaces the URL entirely.

As the example screenshot above shows on a search for [LinkedIn], Google completely removes LinkedIn's URL (www.linkedin.com) from the top result, and has added LinkedIn's name before the three other highlighted results. Also notice that Wikipedia's name appears next to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn, whereas previously the web address would have appeared alone.

This is happening for numerous brands. In addition to Google, Facebook, Apple, Bing, Yahoo, Twitter, and Amazon.com, large brands such as The New York Times, GM, Ford, Taco Bell, and Best Buy are among the sites the Google doesn't display a destination URL for when you search for them. Here are some more screenshots:

Apple:

Google Apple no URL

Taco Bell:

Google Taco Bell no URL

Google (also notice Google Maps doesn't have a URL):

Google no URL

Best Buy:

Google Best Buy no URL

Google Operating System, which first reported the test where Google replaces the URL entirely, says this "doesn't add value and draws unnecessary attention to the results from a list of hand-picked popular sites." Do you agree?

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