Google Logo (Photo : Twitter)
Google is experimenting with its famous search results pages by turning the color of the web links from blue to black. Some users of the search engine who type in a word or phrase into the small box see 10 links with blue link names and green URLs. However, a United Kingdom newspaper and social network users report that some users are seeing black link names that seem to be an A/B test.
The Google experiment was noticed by The Telegraph and several Twitter users on May 9, Monday. It is unclear if the Alphabet company is testing whether people click on black search results more than blue ones.
The other colors of the search results have not changed. Body text is still black and link addresses are still green, according to The Telegraph.
In the past Google has tested different colors of search results. For example, last year the company switched the current navigation tab from a small red line to a blue line. In 2009, it also tested 41 blue colors for search result links and Gmail ads, which boosted the company's yearly ad revenue by $200 million
The A/B testing was nicknamed "50 shades of blue." Google showed each shade of blue to one percent of its users and discovered that they were a little more likely to click on a purple shade.
The tech giant has not confirmed the change to search results. A Google spokesperson stated that the company is always experimenting on the results page's design and that it is not categorically changing the color of search results from blue to black, according to The Verge.
However, the new links are probably keeping track of click-through rates. It is unclear if the company is testing the color, link, search, or user. However, if it results in major changes to Google's search results it would be one of the biggest ones in several years.
There is no single method that always turns off Google's A/B testing. However, a Google forum reported that logging out of the Google account then logging back in again changes the links back to blue.
Here's Google's year in search (2015):
