By on August 27, 2008

Google’s Experiments to Mess With Your Mind

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Yesterday, we talked about the importance of A/B and multivariate testing. Google offers Website Optimizer (for free) and now we learn just how much the search engine eats its own dog food.

Here’s an A/B experiment that Google has conducted. See if you can spot the difference.

Page 1:

Page 2:

Yeah, I didn’t spot it either, but apparently there is slightly more white space around the first listing, in page 1.

Should you be that granular with your A/B testing? Maybe not, but Google explains just how subtly it’s messing with your mind testing your preferences each day.


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12 comments on “Google’s Experiments to Mess With Your Mind”

  1. Nick Stamoulis Says:

    August 27th, 2008 at 10:40 am

    This is a great find…I would not have noticed it unless your pointed it out!

    Nick Stamoulis’s last blog post..How Easy Is It To Write A PPC Ad?

  2. Otilia @ Ad Ops Online Says:

    August 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am

    It’s just a subtle way for the pigeons team to indicate if there’s an imminent PageRank increase: pages that are to get a PR boost will be surrounded by a slightly larger white space.
    Have you checked all your indexed pages today?

    Otilia @ Ad Ops Online’s last blog post..Google Ad Manager out of Beta; All AdSense Publishers Can Use It

  3. Utah SEO Pro Says:

    August 27th, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    It’s the little things that make such a difference sometimes.

    Utah SEO Pro’s last blog post..Building an SEO Friendly Site – SES San Jose 2008 Presentation

  4. Tinx Money Says:

    August 27th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

    I didn’t even realize that until I read this post…

  5. Dylan Darling Says:

    August 28th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    Wow! Interesting find. I wouldn’t have noticed it either. I wonder what the effects of this are, more clicks?

  6. Bloggers Digest - 08/29/08 | Get Elastic Says:

    August 29th, 2008 at 7:19 am

    [...] is always testing – but often the tests are so subtle you hardly notice them. Andy Beal and Manoj Jasra both spotted some, betcha can’t tell what Google’s testing just by [...]

  7. Games Says:

    August 29th, 2008 at 8:10 am

    Quite interesting. Google is just testing us everyday.

  8. Juicy Links: August 25 - August 29 : Exclusive Concepts Blog Says:

    September 1st, 2008 at 1:02 pm

    [...] Google’s Experiments to Mess With Your Mind [...]

  9. Dieta Personalizzata Says:

    September 1st, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    That’s a hard knock.

    Means if google split tests then we should all do it too.

    PS. i would’nt have spot the difference if left alone :)

    Dieta Personalizzata’s last blog post..Scienziati Di Fama Mondiale Per Herbalife

  10. SEO forums Says:

    September 2nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm

    I am still not able to point out the difference between two pics :-(

    SEO forums’s last blog post..At last Google Referral ads are down.

  11. horisly Says:

    September 6th, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    ok, what’s the difference between the two?

    horisly’s last blog post..August.2008 Sales: Mercedes Benz Down 12 Percent

  12. GiuseppeMartone Says:

    November 18th, 2008 at 7:28 am

    For me, there’s not differences!!Google make his tests on Us!!Ever