Google’s Field Day - Google Brings About Plenty of New Changes in the Search Interface

Google has been testing features around the search interface for a while now. Among all the new features, we have found our two favorites - the ‘about’ carousels and a wider search page that includes a lot of new tweaks.

Talking about the carousel first, Google has incorporated carousels on their search page. We are well familiar with the carousels on Instagram but having them on the Google search page? We’re not so sure about how that’ll work out.

So here’s how the carousels are currently playing out. When you scroll down the search page, you will see the ‘About’ section of the searched term. For instance, when you search ‘Instagram’, you will see the link to the main Instagram page. You will also find a carousel below that mentions three to four different sites with basic information about Instagram.

#NewTest
Google added "About" carousel in SER, also "In their own words" linked with about us Page. pic.twitter.com/Uu2cDn5uuU

— Punit (@Punit6008) December 21, 2022

Users can swipe the carousel to find out more about whatever they are searching for. It is a fresh initiative although we do think it is new since we have seen something similar before.

The second thing that Google has been playing around with on the search page is incorporating features that will enable a wider display page. To widen the display page, Google has added carousels (as mentioned before) and split the ‘related questions’ section into two. Users can now see six related questions at a time instead of the usual three.

🆕 It appears to be a completely new desktop SERP interface.

↗️ It's in wide mode; you can see the widest difference in site links, PAA, 4 Twitter posts in carousel (normally 3), and related searches in 3 rows (normally 2). With a favicon, site name. cc - @rustybrick pic.twitter.com/BE9huBMAke

— Khushal Bherwani (@b4k_khushal) December 22, 2022

The ‘related searches’ have also been expanded to nine at a time in three columns instead of the two columns that were previously present. Google sure has a lot of things going on a single page and we’re not sure if it is going to play out neatly or if it is going to turn into a densely packed space.

Another new feature on this wider page includes the top stories going sideways. This allows for more stories to be displayed on the front page. So while it does let for more content to be included, the question is if it’s really necessary or not. Only time will tell.

For now, these changes have been spotted as tests only. We will have to wait and see how the users react to these changes once these features are released.

Read next: New study reveals Email is the most used channel for gathering customer feedback
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Consumer Perception of Financial Health Took a Nosedive in 2022

The pandemic and its ensuing economic chaos created a very difficult time for people as far as their finances were concerned. Once the pandemic receded, many assumed that the economic situation would settle down somewhat, but in spite of the fact that this is the case 40% of families have seen their financial health further plummet in 2022.

Europe seems especially badly hit, but with all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that the US is not immune to the rampant inflation that is wreaking havoc across the globe. This data comes out of a new report published by Deloitte, and it highlights the financial woes that so many families are continuing to struggle with.

People who are within the 40% who claim that they are worse off have a lot of other things to worry about as well. 67% of them are worried about dwindling savings, compared to 31% of people who have not seen a financial decline who said the same. A similar proportion, 67% to be precise, are worried about how they will meet upcoming payment deadlines.

The biggest cut is going towards discretionary spending. 26% of the average person’s monthly budget was for discretionary spending back in 2021, but this year it has dropped by 3 points to just 23%. That is putting the squeeze on many industries, since consumers have less money to spend than might have been the case otherwise and the higher prices are not helping matters along either.

We are going through a period of inflation that has not been seen in many decades, and it spelled the end of an extended bull run of the stock market among many other positive economic indicators.

Things are certainly starting to look dire in 2023, but many are asserting that this is when inflation will peak and we will hopefully see a turning of the tide by the time 2024 comes around. Until then, consumers will be pinching pennies and brands will be scrambling to entice them into buying anything at all to bolster their revenues.

Read next: Companies focus on new values to increase their reach
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

58% of Americans Faced Financial Hardships in 2022

2020 seemed to be a time when unprecedented economic hardships were going to come to the fore, and that is why 47% of Americans stated that they had a hard time managing their finances in that year. This number dipped to just 15% in 2021 due to the winding down of the pandemic, but in spite of the fact that this is the case things are now worse than ever with 58% of Americans now stating that they have experienced a backslide in 2022, as per Slickdeals survey.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that this might be making people somewhat more reckless with their money than might have been the case otherwise. Back in 2020, 73% of people said that being more responsible with their money was going to be a part of their New Year’s resolution.

That went up to 76% in 2021, and it has now crashed to just 63% in 2022. 11% of survey respondents went so far as to say that they weren’t going to make any financial resolutions at all because they were so frustrated by their finances.

Wealth accumulation also seems to have become far less of a priority for most Americans. Only 55% of the 2,000 Americans who responded to this survey said that they are going to be focusing on wealth accumulation in 2023. That’s down dramatically from 76% in 2021 and 72% in 2020 with all things having been considered and taken into account.

79% of people said that inflation was making it harder for them to set financial goals because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making the prices of essential goods difficult to predict. Coming up with a financial plan requires a stable economic environment, so it’s no surprise that people are starting to get such a grim outlook for 2023. This is hopefully going to be the year when markets finally reach the bottom, and they would ideally start a bull run again that would make up for the loss of wealth incurred.

Read next: Will 2023 be better than 2022? The world doesn't seem to think so
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

New data reveals there’s been an influx of cybersquatting scams in 2022

A new report suggests that there’s been an influx in the number of fake online websites mimicking real and well-known domains. Hackers and other malicious individuals and organizations are creating fake websites for tricking you into giving them private information or login info about different accounts. When fake websites copy the names of actual domains, these cases are called cybersquatting cases.

To access a website, you have to know its correct domain name, otherwise, you’ll reach a completely different website when entering it on a web browser. Which is why it’s important to make sure that the domain name is right.

In a report by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) via AtlasVPN, we came to know that 5,516 cases related to the issue of cybersquatting were filed in 2022. The data suggests that this year specifically, there was an increase of 10% from the last year of 2021.

The graph provided by the team (featured below) gives several cases and disputes registered to UDRP or Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. Data suggests that cybersquatting cases have been on an increasing trend since 2013.

Now we’ll give you some information regarding how these malicious individuals use different cybersquatting techniques to steal your private data. With more insight into this topic, you should be safer and more aware when browsing websites online.

One of the most common techniques of cybersquatting is typosquatting where hackers change a character or a group of characters from a well-known website so that it looks like the real domain name of the website but instead takes you to a fraudulent website if you click on it.

The next method of tricking users is combosquatting where they combine a word with the domain name. For example, they’ll add the word ‘payment’ after a domain from a big well-known brand.

Moreover, if you use an internet assistant such as Siri for browsing, the hackers use similar-sounding words to trick the assistant into taking you to a different website. For example, “weather.com” could be changed to “whether.com”.

Levelsquatting involves the use of a subdomain next to a real domain to make it look like it is part of the actual domain name. For example, “mango.com” could be changed to “mango.abcd.com”.

Read next: Will 2023 be better than 2022? The world doesn't seem to think so
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Microsoft Store All Set To Introduce Ads As Early As Next Month

Leading software giant Microsoft is on a mission to introduce ads to its Store as early as next month.

The news is not too surprising to us for obvious reasons. We’ve been seeing Microsoft Advertising venture into an expansion in this field for a while now. Since the past couple of months, we saw the company release updates for the likes of Hotel Price Ads and more updates on the Store’s Ads too.

As a whole, Microsoft Advertising increased to a number of different markets, and a figure of 164 was delineated while an increase in this was expected to occur similarly with time too. As far as the figure for supported languages is concerned, it grew to 35. And every one of them was soon declared to be compatible with the nation where business dealings were being conducted.

The goal is to be free when you’re going global, a leading expert from Microsoft Advertising was seen mentioning to marketers for a presentation. The upcoming year is all about going international for Microsoft and that’s exactly what it’s doing. They have so far added 100 different markets to the list.

For now, the launch of ads on the Microsoft Store is in the beta phase. And the date to look out for in terms of the launch is January 5 of next year. As a whole, you’ll find around 1 billion active devices running on Windows and such users are downloading apps through this store for Windows.

Starting early next month, Microsoft hopes to give advertisers the signal to purchase ads from the app store’s campaigns which are taken care of by the company’s advertising platform.

The cost for each click is awfully competitive as the firm recently unveiled ads in this store. But in general, Microsoft says it is allowing markets to bring the costs down too by carrying out a test in this feature. Moreover, you’ll find conversion rates to be as great as 40%, the firm mentioned. And that again has to do with what market we’re referring to.

Some data that can be found out there entails product impressions, bids, clicks, and some benchmarks to be wary of during auctions. And then you’ve got the likes of costs per acquisition that’s also worth a glance.

Other than that, you’ll find collaborations with tracking partners of third parties but Microsoft is yet to give more details in this regard.

Today, the company’s Store Ads are getting a trial at the app store and the firm feels that keeping expectations related to making ads available in native places like Bing, MSAN, and even Widgets on Windows during the second part of next year could be beneficial.

In the same way, we’re seeing Hotel Price Ads also be highlighted for the purpose of global testing and with a general launch arising in January of next year too. While they are also searching ads, they’re great at showcasing information in real time with plenty of action that’s taken within a search experience. These arise on the Bing Search results and similarly on Bing Maps too.

The purpose of such ads is to pave the way for some more bookings while engaging and inspiring travelers out there. You can similarly use Microsoft’s Hotel Center and user interface that entails workflows having management for failure ads too.

It’s a great project in our minds and Microsoft definitely deserves so much credit for the endeavor that the company has been planning for a while now.

Read next: French Regulator Fines Microsoft’s Bing Search Engine For Forcing Users To Accept Cookies
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Companies focus on new values to increase their reach

According to new research, companies have been shifting their values to gain more trust, increase their reach, and improve user experience.

It was recently found that brands are focusing more on personalization as a way to improve their market value and gain more engagement. 63% of the companies being surveyed claimed that personalization is the top marketing tactic they will be using in the upcoming years, that's according to Customer Engagement Insider.

After personalization, the companies promised to employ rewards programs, which were followed by text-based communication. While text-based communication did have a 42% hold on these companies, we believe it is a tactic of the past. People are leaning more towards advanced technologies to promote their brands instead of text-based communications.

This type of communication still does have a huge impact through daily SMS service, blogs, and captions. We believe this is the reason behind its popularity among marketers.

It was also found that while 13% of the brands are focusing on phone outreach, 16% are more focused on targeting geotargeting as a marketing tactic.

To outshine the competition and trends today, it is important to mix personalization with the newest technologies and produce something exceptional for your customers. Without the knowledge of the upcoming technological trends, we believe no company can stand out.

Other values that many of the brands are focusing on to create a better company include inclusiveness of user experience, including support for different races, genders, languages, ethnicities, and more. Another ‘trend’ that’s being followed these days is employee experience reputation. This includes how well the employees are taken care of which represents the values and dedication of a company.

Other values include cultural sensitivity, environment, climate, and sustainability awareness, adapting to generational shifts, geo-political awareness, and general political awareness as well.

It can be observed that all of these are ongoing trends and only companies that are well aware of these trends can be the ones to thrive and shine.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Which Smartphone Has The Best Camera? The Results Are Out Thanks To This Expert’s Test

One of the greatest incentives for purchasing a new smartphone in today’s day and age is linked to having a great camera.

Users are on the lookout for a device whose smartphone camera entails all the features that give crisp and clear results and are similarly convenient to use across the board. So which device reigns supreme? Was it the ever-so-popular iPhone 14 Pro or not?

Well, it’s thanks to experts like MKBHD who recently launched the fun blind smartphone camera challenge that’s a usual and enticing offer taking place each year.

The test is dedicated to finding the best precision system for cameras out there today, not to mention the greatest or most dedicated websites for hosting, and more.

This year, we saw the likes of over 21 million votes cast and it’s safe to say that the Apple's iPhone 14 Pro did not do as well as many had hoped for.

The competition was tough and MKBHD really leveled up his game, making sure the ranking system was based on Elo-style power technology that was seen being hosted across a dedicated webpage.

A total of 600,000 people had their say in terms of the best images and impressive outlook of data used to bring about the best results. But even before the votes had been cast, participants were questioned about if they wished to make comparisons based on the classic low-light images or those that were more portrait styled from a wide range of 16 smartphone devices.

The voting is actually still open until the end of January 2023. Hence if you are still looking for ways to cast your vote, well, you can figure out which is the best offering in terms of smartphone cameras for you too.

So who won or shall we say, who led the pack of results in the test so far?

For starters, we can say that the iPhone 14 Pro is faring pretty mediocre as it comes in the middle of the pack’s listing, taking the 7th position. First place went to Pixel 6A while the second position went to Pixel 7 Pro, and then in third place, it was Asus Zenfone 9.

But other similar devices that really pushed the Apple iPhone 14 Pro aside included the likes of Oppo Find X5 Pro, the Realme 10 Pro+, and also Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra.

On the other hand MKBHD also shared the list of smartphones with the worst average ELO rating. Surprisingly, Sony Xperia 1 IV and Motorola's Edge 30 Ultra were the losers in this segment.





Basically, Marques Brownlee shared two separate rankings when it comes to the best smartphone cameras in 2022! The first one with the overall better camera performance has been listed above while the second one was based on "votes per dollar" which lists the smartphone camera that possess best value for money. And here are the results:

Take a look at the complete video for more insights:



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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World