Dive Brief:

• Google's mobile search redesign provides users with tappable shortcuts to interest areas like sports, weather, entertainment and food and drink and has rolled out for the iOS and Android apps as well as the mobile version of Google.com per a company blog post.
• The blog post pointed out that the search bar is ideal when looking for a specific answer, but the new shortcuts let users easily catch up on the latest for topics of interest.
• The shortcuts appear at the top of the mobile app and below the search bar on the mobile website.

Dive Insight:

Marketers should expect most new innovations and features for users to come on the mobile experience. Some time ago mobile search outpaced desktop search queries, and most views on YouTube happen on mobile. Like Facebook, Google is prioritizing mobile because that is where the user action is happening and also where the majority of ad revenue is coming from.

By simplifying the user experience Google is also placing a lot more information in one spot that could possibly cause users to stick around on the Google site rather than head to other apps for information around the different interest areas. For example, the redesign could make it easier for users to find nearby restaurants and other local businesses. Nearby searches are a frequent use case on mobile. 

TechCrunch pointed out that the redesign doesn't introduce any new functionality to Google, it just takes content that was already available and presents into an easy-to-find user interface, possibly for less tech-savvy mobile users.