google images

The most noticeable changes? The elimination of the text or “cruft” from the search results page, leaving a mosaic of images. Now, Google Images will generate 1,000 results per page, which will be accessible through an “infinite scroll” function that adds more results as a user scrolls down the page.

In addition, Google will be transitioning from text-based ads on the page to a more image-based ad format, said Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google. Interestingly, that also means that Google may be transitioning away from strictly text-based ads.
Google has already started to roll the page out, and it’s available to about 10 percent of users. By the end of the week, all users should have access, Google executives said. For now, the site will be for desktop PCs only, running Chrome, Safari, Firefox 3.0 and up, and Internet Explorer 7 and 8.

“We really think this user interface is the best in the world, with the interface stripping it down and highlighting the image,” Mayer said. Executives also said that they’re continuing to iterate the interface.

In 2001, Google launched Images as a beta site, with 250 million photos that were indexed, according to Ben Ling, director of search. By 2005, 1 billion images were added, and today, over 10 billion images are online, Ling said. Google records over a billion page views per day on Google Images.