Robert_Charlton - 4:10 am on Jan 4, 2010 (gmt 0)

As a user, I like the new interface too. With regard to AdWords, I think that it may in fact help the AdWords listings at the top. Not clear what it will do to the top organic listings. It may also increase use of Google's vertical channels (ie, Videos, News, Blogs, Shopping, etc). The interface design pulls emphasis back up to the top of the screen, which I'm assuming is where Google wants it.

I remember after the introduction of Universal Search that Gord Hotchkiss [pubcon.com] discussed new eye-tracking heatmap studies he'd done, which indicated that the former "F"-shaped heatmap pattern had been replaced by a pattern that was closer to an "E" shape.

With text-only SERPs, eye-tracking studies had shown that user focus started at the top left, moved across the page to points of interest and then gradually down, describing an "F"-shaped pattern that became known as the "golden triangle." But with Universal Search's addition of thumbnails in the left column, the eye's attention was pulled from the top left starting point more quickly down to the image thumbnails, and then it moved across to the right, describing more of an "E" pattern than an "F" pattern. There was quite a bit of discussion at the time about what this might do to AdWords click-throughs, the assumption being that the images on the left side would draw attention not only away from the top, but also away from the ads on the right.

Key components of the new design are the Google logo and the dark blue (with white lettering) "Everything" bar in the upper left, the bold font in the search box, and the dark blue "Search" bar to the right of the search window. These all attract the eye to the top of the page.

On a search for a well-known product, eg, I'm seeing that the top two ads are essentially framed on the top left by Google-colored icons for the most popular Google vertical channels, and in the right AdWords column by the top ad, which features a c82-px square product shot. I should note also that the second ad at the top has a dark blue Google Checkout logo, essentially in the lower right corner of the top add block, which is the same dark blue as the "Search" button. I'll be interested to see how this interface does.

Very clean, and while the ads feel more prominent, they are also easily distinguishable from the organic results. The block of Shopping results in position #3 is more problematic.