How about the new Google Plus cover images?
-
I logged into several accounts this morning and have noticed Google Plus has changed their cover images/layout... again! When I edit the cover image, it only allows me to pick the old ratios.
What do you think?
Here to stay?
Was there an announcement or anything about this?
-
The problem with making it transparent is that you would lose 25% or so of the image which means you would still have to add some design to it (ie. making your picture offset or something) The way it is now you can just add a photo and you're done. No editing or Photoshop skills required. I just think it's too 'blocky' (thanks for the verification on that word) and think the 'info card' should be just a slightly bigger size or something to make it work better. You should be able to customize your background color for the 'text card' too. I think it would work better with branding.
https://plus.google.com/+LaBovick/ has their image fade at the bottom and the 'info card' to the left is a little longer and it looks nice that way. If Google could make this sort of design default I think it would look a lot better. Maybe even have the menu fit in that negative space below the image and to the right of the 'info card'.
Unfortunately I don't work at Google anymore so I'll just build a template to make it work. Either way it's much better then the old style.
-
Oh yah, and blocky is a word according to: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/blocky
-
The blurred background it just confusing. If it was transparent, and the info box showed the background image underneath instead of a duplicate, I think it would be better.
-
Did you also see that Google Places pages that are listed as having "Service Areas" can now be automatically upgraded to Google Plus pages? Its a slow roll-out, but we're seeing it done when we log into accounts! Sometimes we have to go in and delete the old G+ Business page to leave just the G+ Local page.
-
I'm enjoying the simplistic look of the new G+ page. The top image, where we were forced to scroll up to view it was just a horrible experience for all users. That scrolling really never served any purpose than to frustrate people with the "teaser" effect.
Now, it's all right there as it should be. Removing the thinking, confusion and frustrations and going back to what Google says they strive for, improving our experience using their products. In my opinion, this new page stylization has done that for me.
Patrick
-
Yeah maybe "love it" was an overstatement. I'm just so relieved that the annoying cover image is gone.
-
Nothing at Google is here to stay. I can think of at least 5 cover photo changes already. I didn't see any announcements but I now that the Google+ for Android rolled out yesterday.
Here are my thoughts
What I like about it:
- "that giant monstrosity of an image" that Mike Roberts mentioned is gone! I hated having to scroll UP to see all of it. That was just dumb.
- I like the 'info card' on the left side vs the bottom long drawn out text area we had before.
- I like that the 'info card' doesn't cover ANY of the image. We spend a lot of money on photography and I don't want it covered.
What I don't like:
- It looks very blocky (<-- is that a word?). I think a more artistic design would have been better. www.google.com/+vzpro is very boring whereas www.google.com/+labovick, who designed their cover before to allow for the text area to be easily read, looks great. I think making the 'info card' be a little longer and have a little shadowing behind it would make a world of difference as far as design. I know we can design images to do that now but I think it is an easy adjustment for G+ to do.
- I don't like the fact that the background of the 'info card' is the same image as the one to the right and is extremely blurred. I don't know if a solid color would be better but I just know I don't like it very much.
Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. Carry on...
-
Agreed! I'm sure this update will come as a big sigh of relief to many. The giant image was completely incongruous with the rest of the site and quite jarring.
There's a lot of empty space on pages, though - especially the profile page. Don't you think?
-
Can't say I love it but I otherwise agree with Jesse... that giant monstrosity of an image previously was just annoying.
-
I saw it, for some reason I always get overly excited about a Google plus update, couldn't find a mention of it, not sure if I like it yet.
-
Yeah I love it. So much better than the giant cover photo, that was driving me bonkers to be honest.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Quick Start SEO Tasks for Brand New Multi Regional Website
Hello All Webmasters, I have questions on organic visits for my fresh website targeted in Australia. I am a webmaster of http://www.canvaschamp.com.au/ and we have launched this domain before 20 days around on the date 7th Aug 2014. I have set up display network ads campaign for quick visits and going to start Product Listing Campaign soon for our products to get transaction. I also set up my social media accounts but have not update anything with them yet. But my biggest concern is to build organic links through various link building activities as per latest trend. I have couple of questions which i mentioned below My domain for AUS: http://www.canvaschamp.com.au/ How can i increase my organic visits? (Right now didn't get any organic visit) Which Link building activities still works to get maximum organic visits and how can i improve my social media performance? What are the steps to go forward to promote and increase my performance in Google ranking for this new website? (Any steps by step activity to go ahead?) Should i keep my link building activities limited to .com.au websites or can i promote globally?? Looking forward to hear from all my expert webmaster friends to help me out and to improve my site's performance. Thanks
Social Media | | CommercePundit0 -
Google Places and Google Local
I am pretty confused about how the difference between Google Local, Places and Business Pages. I created a Google+ Page and have about 800 followers. https://plus.google.com/100975632641377061238 To control our listing on Google Maps and what shows up on the right side of a Google Search, which includes a map and business hours I had to create a Google Local page. Now this page only shows we have 4 followers. https://plus.google.com/110649807298590030594 Is there any way to combine the two?
Social Media | | joebuilder1 -
Google+ comment is not appear what should I do?
Hello My customer trying to leave recommendation on Google+ but it doesn't appear? I tried also to test it I can see on my account under my recommendation part but I can't see on google + under company page? Thanks
Social Media | | FRUTIKO0 -
Anyone use the new "Social Settings" in Google Analytics?
In the past couple of months, Google rolled out a tab called "Social Settings" in the Admin area (see image). It's an optional setting, and Google is rather vague about what it does. GA already tracks social in "Traffic Sources," so what is the advantage of using Social Settings? If you've used these new settings, what have your experiences been? Were the settings helpful? Did they completely screw up your analytics? Thanks, Benjamin Ri5bY Ri5bY.jpg
Social Media | | 1000Bulbs1 -
How much of an impact does Google+ page age have?
Do Google+ pages gain authority with age? Does it matter very much if I wait a few months to make a Google+ page as opposed to establishing it now, even if I won't be doing much work on it for a while?
Social Media | | HCGDiet0 -
Yet another Google Plus One question: Does it affect ranking for people that you are NOT connected to?
Title pretty much explains it all. If lots of people plus one (the new verb of 2011?) a site, is that site deemed 'popular' and therefore will appear higher up the SERPS generally? Or does it only affect those with whom you are linked via Twitter/Facebook/Google+? Or is it too early to tell yet?
Social Media | | seanmccauley1 -
Do you think Google +1 can hurt rankings?
More on established B2C sites (not blogs/forums)? For example, a client has the #1 ranking for the kw with the highest exact match volume in their vertical and sitelinks. Is it better to keep things status quo and not give Google the data or potentially introduce a new signal to Google that might be negative if CTR is not high enough?
Social Media | | MatomySEO0 -
How much weight do Twitter Lists carry in Google's determination of user influence?
I have come across a number of Twitter users that have 1000+ Followers, and they typically follow 1000+ people. I've noticed as of late that many of these people are found on fewer lists. I also know that many twitter users are selective about who they actually allow in their main twitter stream and therefore create lists to manage who they follow. Any thoughts on if /how twitter lists contribute to a user's authority and/or influence from the SERP's perspective?
Social Media | | Thos0030