Skills Presentation: Improve the Look of a Search Results Page

Q. Make a recommendation to improve the presentation or look of the standard Google results page. 

A.  On each page of a Google search the total number of results, as well as the total time it took to run the search is regularly/always displayed just below the search bar.

To a real web searcher the total volume is actually irrelevant, as time strapped users are more interested in one good result than in 182 million links they could never visit. It is clear that these displayed numbers actually don't have any real value to the traditional user who uses the site to explore the web to find an apartment, a dentist, qualified auto mechanic or a new job.

Although techies and SEO experts might still want to know (for fun) how many keyword results there are, or how many milliseconds the search query took, the general user would instantly adapt if that number were no longer available/displayed.  My recommendation to eliminate these numbers from the search page, or provide it as an option that can be enabled by the user in custom/preferences section, cleans up the search page by increasing the white space on the page.

Skills Presentation: Suggest a New Google Search Page Idea

Q. Provide a new product or product improvement that would improve the general user experience of the standard Google Search platform. 

A. Create/offer a true 'Everything' search page or Search Tab feature.

Situation: Even though the standard/main Google search page result is supposed to be a collection of 'everything' in reality it's mostly 'web' results, with an occasional news story, image, or video thrown in to color the web only results.  There is a need for a True 'Everything' web page search tab.

By providing a page (template) that general users can access that searches across the standard already available categories (web, images, blogs, news, videos, etc.), and displays the results in one page (i.e., tiled format with separate sections like Google news categories are displayed) would provide a new and meaningful user search experience.

This true 'everything' search function could be built from the existing news story display platform where different categories can be displayed/removed at the user level. With the page set up, users could truly search all the Google categories without having to leave the 'everything' search page template to see the collection of results. The section categories could offer the first three-ten results from each  Google category that is select to appear on the page. 

Product Suggestion: Create a true 'search everything' template/tab that will allows a user to search across categories (i.e., web, news, images, shopping, etc), from a central user defined page.

Mock Skills Presentation: Suggest a Product Improvement for Google Blogspot

Have you ever tried to read a book starting with the last page first, and work your way to the front?   Books are published first to last because it’s the normal progression of a story. "Boy meets girl..." Blogs, however, do not currently offer the option (easily) to show a story from first to last; it is always last to first, which means that a first time blog visitor always shows up in the middle of the story.

Blogspot Product Suggestion:  Provide an optional smart cookie (blog owner/admin could enable this option as needed) that recognizes a first time or return user and displays the blog in an appropriate order.

Confucius never said:

"Those who eat many fortune cookies gain many options for the future."

First time visitors would see the first story (or other summary post to set the tone/theme) from the beginning... "Boy meets Girl...” Return visitors see the blog in its normal order with the most recent post at the top... "Boy falls in Love all over again..."

This simple re-ordering feature would be triggered by either the absence of a cookie (posts displayed first-to-last), or the presence of a cookie (display posts last-to-first).  Additional variations on the basic theme are also possible. This feature could help make presentations much more relevant to first time users, and help improve the engagement that writers have with their online audiences.

Mock Skills Presentation: Make a Google Search Product Suggestion

Situation: Online social networks (fb/twitter etc.) benefit from having their logo boxes included at the bottom of nearly every page on the web, and although the 'g' in a box logo follows their basic model, Google has an opportunity to jump ahead with the introduction of a short//search co-branded instant search solution that could deliver an entirely new dimension to its traditional search product.

Suggestion: Create a unique type of targeted, co-branded search solution (web code text string) that connects google search to businesses and organizations at the keyword level. The idea is to create a very short text string, that when entered into the url field of an internet browser, would return a Google search page with the corresponding keyword results. Businesses could use the co//branded solution their websites, and other collateral material.

Co-Branded Example:   google//co-branded-keywords

For example a co-branded string google//clintgarwood could be made to return this page:

Although the example (when entered into the url field) currently returns this page:

Any brand or keyword-phrase could be used, and if done properly, companies could simply adapt the format without having to receive prior permission or approval to use in their promotions:
     google//Sony-Music
     google//McDonald's
     google//George-V-Eatertainment
     google//Tropical-Vacation
     google//Chicago-Restaurant
     google//Find-A-Job
     google//World-Peace          etc...,

Google short//search co-branding would serve, and provide value to Company customers, partners and other organizations by allowing them to share targeted Google searches. Businesses that dedicate professional effort and resources to ensure their presentation is competitive on the other end of the short search line (top three results) will enjoy access to an extremely targeted stream of online customers.  The co-branded format would also reduce the number of user keystrokes and web pages users need to visit to connect with the targeted keyword search results page. The concept is easily adapted for mobile products in unique formats.