- Google is testing a simpler search results page with “ten blue links” in some parts of Europe, specifically for hotel queries.
- This means less richness in results and more direct links, often to travel aggregators.
- The test is in response to demands from some sites and aims to understand user experience and traffic impact.
To say that Google Search has evolved over the years would be a big understatement. We’ve gone from search results being a collection of web links to search results offering rich and contextual data that served our needs very well to AI summaries with a hallucination problem that are much better when turned off. If you’re missing some of that old-world Google charm, Google is testing going back to the “ten blue links” format for certain searches in certain regions, albeit reluctantly.
Google has announced that it is running a “short test” on how it displays search results in the European Union. For users in Germany, Belgium, and Estonia, Google Search will remove the rich results around hotels and revert to a link list of websites similar to the old “ten blue links” format from the early days of Google.