Thursday, August 10, 2006

Google Video Added to Google Homepage

Google got rid of the Froogle and Google Groups link on top of their search box, and introduced a link to Google Video instead. From what we know, only the most successful Google services get spotlighted on the homepage... in the past, services like Google Directory had to go.

However, when you now click on the “more” link to the right, a small box opens on the page. It contains links to Google Books, shopping search engine Froogle, and Google Groups. Click on “even more,” and you’re taken to a larger overview of Google’s services (which still misses some products, like Google Answers).

Google was first seen experimenting with this new design back in July. Back then, the “more” box also included Google Scholar, but this one didn’t seem to make the cut.

All in all, I think the navigation shuffle is for the better. I basically never clicked on Froogle, and while I click on Groups at times (almost always to research a programming problem), the expandable “more” box still keeps this close. Google Video seems to be one of Google’s higher-traffic services, especially when you add up not page views, but the time people spent on a page. A link on Google’s frontpage is likely to give this another push against the YouTube competition. And remember, Google Video recently was spotted experimenting with a more YouTube-like design, too...

Discussion is in the forum. (As Google slowly rolled out this homepage change, some already spotted it yesterday.)

[Thanks Jake’s View, Noah.]

Google Video Added to Goo ... by Philipp Lenssen

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