• Bits Blog, Wednesday, May 5, 2010 3 PM

Likely in response to Bing's more nuanced search experience, Google is making what The New York Times calls "some very noticeable changes" to its search results pages. Expected to be rolled out gradually throughout the week, the search giant is adding a new left-handed navigation panel to most results pages.

According to The Times' Bits blog, this "visual clutter" means users will have easier access to tools to help them more narrowly focus search queries. Now, when users search for a type of media, they will get the option to choose between different content types, including images, videos and books. When they search for an event or news topic, meanwhile, Google will now know that this is a news-related query and offer options to view blogs, real-time updates from sources like Twitter and Facebook, and links to news articles. Also, when users search for a product, the left side of the page will offer links to maps and Google's comparison shopping engine.

Read the whole story at Bits Blog »