Google users no longer have to search for some of their favorite artists in order to see their work. The search engine giant recently unveiled a new feature that allows users to upload works from several well-known artists, sculptors and photographers to personalize their homepages. But marketers may be interested to know that Google visitors don’t seem to want this artsy option.
At press time, one of the top three web results for a Google search for "Google wallpaper" was "How do I get rid of Google wallpaper?" Searching "get rid of Google wallpaper" yields 900 news results and more than 2.5 million web results.
Users are going out of their way to learn how to undo what Google hoped would be a hot new feature. It begs the question, why did the search engine giant make artistic homepages available in the first place?
Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, wrote in a Google blog that the company wanted to make the homepage personal to users.
Still, many speculate that this was a case of Bing envy gone awry. At the recent Seattle SMX Advanced conference, Search Engine Land reports, Yusuf Mehdi said the look of Bing’s homepage, with a backdrop featuring frequently updated pictures, is popular with users.
Notably, Microsoft’s search engine is making headway in the search market. Hitwise reports that Bing accounted for more than 9 percent of U.S. searches in April 2010, and it will soon be a search option on Apple’s mobile devices.
