Google are testing new ways to display your search results. There are a whole host of alternative search views to choose from.

To test it out have a look at Google Experimental, (you’ll need a gmail login to use the service).

The new views include Info View, Timeline View and Map View.

Info View

Info View offers is a way to display information from trusted sites such as .edu’s. In the example of Thomas Jefferson, this includes links to Wikipedia, biography’s and University papers relevant to the subject.

The accuracy of the information within Info View may at times be questionable, however it is a useful feature to be able to narrow down searches when doing research on a person or subject.

Timeline View

Timeline View will come in useful for history students, or those wanting to search for news reports surrounding an event when they know the time-frame. I.e. a sporting event, court case, 9-11 etc.

The filter function allows users to only show a specific time-frame, which is a nice feature. When filtering down to a specific year, say 2007. Articles written in 2007 relating to the subject are displayed. The time-frame graphic also drops down to a monthly view allowing the user to filter results by month.

Map View

Another somewhat useful resource, again great for doing research. In searching for a famous person, Map View will give points on a map for birth place and places where significant events occurred along with articles to go along with the points.

Map View also allows you to narrow your search to a specific state, province or country.

Keyword Suggestions

The keyword suggestion tool is basically a revamped version of the ajax suggestion feature that comes with Firefox.

The advantage of this new tool, is it gives you estimates of how many pages are in Google’s index for a specific keyword or phrase.

Keyboard Shortcuts

With this feature users are able to navigate the results using the keyboard. This will please a lot of accessibility experts as well as making Google easier to use for those with disabilities.

Left-hand Search

The Left-hand Search results gives you extra information for further comparison of a product. This layout is similar to ASK.

I personally can’t see any particular benefits of this view, other than the fact it may look a little nicer to some users.

Right-hand Contextual Search

I didn’t find this view particularly useful. It’s very similar to the Left-hand Search view, however the main aim of this layout is being able to search by specific content or search around similar terms.

Overall, there are some interesting changes here, and Google are asking for feedback from those who test run the new features.