Users criticize new Google images format

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) changed the way it displayed the results of Google Images, but users--at least the ones commenting on news reports of the change--were not impressed.

"I'm already looking for a new image search, because this new one that Google has unleashed is unusable," said "Tom," in response to a Wall Street Journal article on the change.

"The new image layout is horrible!" said "Amanda," in response to a CMSwire post. "If I wanted to use an image search that looked like Bing's I would just use Bing. I stuck with Google because I preferred their layout, but I guess they enjoy driving away long time loyal users."

Google, which first built Google Images in 2001, said it had made the changes to make it easier for users to find useful results, noting that it now indexes more than 10 billion images, compared to 250 million images in 2001.

New features include a different layout to display more images at once, scrolling between pages (which Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Bing already has), larger thumbnail previews, a hover page that gives users additional options, and improved keyboard navigation. In addition, clicking on the image takes users to a different type of page that shows the image over its original website.

Not surprisingly, another new change makes it easier for Google to sell ads. "We're launching a new ad format called Image Search Ads," wrote Nate Smith, product manager for Google Images, in a blog posting. "These ads appear only on Google Images, and they let you include a thumbnail image alongside your lines of text."

The new format of the search results could also raise concerns among online publishers, said James Temple of the San Francisco Chronicle. "Clicking on the thumbnail brings up the full-size image, which now appears in front of the original site. Users have to click again to get to that page. Previously, clicking on the image brought users directly to the publisher's page, with a Google banner at the top that allowed them to click through to the full image. This subtle difference could be important in the eyes of online publishers. Before, users could only see a thumbnail before visiting the site where it first appeared. Now the entire image can be viewed or downloaded without ever leaving a Google URL."

Such a display could violate fair use provisions, which are acceptable for thumbnail-size reproductions--the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled--but may not be for full-size images, Temple wrote.

For more information:
- see the Wall Street Journal article
- see the CMSwire post
- see the San Francisco Chronicle article

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