Google has rolled out a new search interface, which its Taiwan office described as “intelligent,” as part of its efforts to optimize the relevance of online queries.
The new design includes a left-hand navigation panel and slight changes to its logo.
Google Taiwan general manager Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) said the revised search function offers more “real-time content.”
“You will discover that there is a lot of real-time content. Now you can also search for content on Facebook and Twitter,” he said, referring to two popular social Web sites.
Google Taiwan attaches great importance to localization, Chien said. For example, a pop-up map will appear after a local address is entered in the search bar, without having to go to Google Maps.
“We hope to make our users feel that Google has been progressing and getting smarter,” he said.
Some people might have already used the new functions, as they were part of Google's global test for the new launch, said Vince Wu, a product manager with Google Taiwan, adding that Google has rolled out the new navigation feature for mobile phones as well.
Google now ranks 5th in Taiwan after Yahoo! Taiwan, Facebook, Wretch.cc, and YouTube in terms of reach rate, the length of time users stay on these Web sites and users’ loyalty, according to a recent survey by a local market researcher InsightXplorer.
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