Search Engine Journal

Google News is testing a new vertical format which seems to be reminiscent of Yahoo One Search and more of a mobile device driven format than the usual Newspaper style spread Google News usually delivers on the PC. Ugly as sin as this Google News layout is, there may be some reasons behind it.

Notice the Featured Stories and a Featured Photo to the right, with Popular and Interesting Stories listed in a Blogroll type setting down the right side of the new Google News. Unlike the traditional Google News, this new layout forces the user to scroll way down the page to view the interesting vertical news of the day, which may be an attempt to drive lazy Google News readers like myself to customize my personalized Google News a bit more.

While the layout may be more iPhone friendly, I’m viewing it on the PC right now in a Firefox browser and have to say, I give Google News a big thumbs down in terms of user experience and findability. A drive for more use of the search box or more personalization via handing the consumer the keys to the UI?

Risky decision by Google, but forcing the average user to search Google News more could lead to the inclusion or testing of AdWords in the Google News results. With the downward spiral on Wall Street, this could be a future move for Google.