martinibuster - 8:41 pm on Jan 11, 2012 (gmt 0)

This is a huge mistake, and it's annoying/ugly. No one is liking this new SERP. No one.

Google users have to be logged in to see the SERPs. Otherwise it does not exist. It has been reported that only 10% of site visitors to a typical site are logged in to Google, and Matt Cutts himself has said, in relation to how many visitors are logged in (in the context of the keyword not provided change [searchengineland.com] that the number of logged in visitors would be in the single digits.

Here are the facts as we know them:

1. These SERPs are NOT being shown to 100% of Google users.

2. The new SERPs are only being shown to about/more or less 10% of Google users.

3. Twitter walked away from Google, not the other way around.

4. The new SERPs are not forced on everybody, only to people who buy into Google's services by signing in.