You may have noticed a change to the Google search results over the past few weeks as they have recently rolled out a new layout.

With the major changes being the addition of a new left hand column on the side of the page providing quick access to the most relevant search tools depending on the query. The sidebar can help suggest related queries and gives users more control over Googles universal search feature which helps to integrate news, products, images, and videos into the search results.

The changes, which have come under a lot of scrutiny over the past few weeks, are comparable to Bing’s sidebar. With Bing being the only other real competitor to Google with the announcement of Yahoo no longer being a search provider the competition between these two companies is becoming stronger.

Below is a screenshot of Google’s new sidebar followed by an example of Bing’s sidebar

Google

Bing