New Google Search
Did you notice the subtle changes in Google's search?
Firstly, one big change is the taking away of the search "pages from Australia" in www.google.com.au . Users will be able to access this once they make their first search and then click on the tab in the left hand menu. This means that users will have to choose to search Australian sites after they have made their first search and then all subsequent searches will default to Australian sites, unless the user decides to go back to the default "everything" setting.
However, it is still evident on most searches done, that Google is still localizing the search results, so if you search for "domain names", Australian providers will appear first in the search results - even if the user chooses to search "everything" as opposed to "pages from Australia".
Google wonderwheel
The wonderwheel provides suggestions to users about what keyword phrases are related to the keyword phrase or keyword they entered into the search. These suggestions, are Google's way of helping searches to choose the right keyword for their query. The wheel spans out in endless directions offering endless possibilities and the related searches appear on the right hand side of the wheel.
Some of Google's suggestions are little weird, depending on the phrase chosen but also quite helpful in seeing other possible avenues to look into. eg. typing "organic fruits" into the wonder wheel, gives you one suggestion "organic food genetically modified" and when you click that link, the wheel produces another link that says "monsanto genetically modified" which leads to "monsanto whistleblower" and when you click on this link you can read an article on the right column "Monsanto Whistleblower Says Genetically Engineered Crops May Cause Disease."
Without the wonderwheel, you may not have found the articles on disease and genetically modified foods. The user was simply looking for "organic fruits" and wandered into a large amount of material about the effects of GM food on health.
Search Images, Videos, News, Books, Blogs, Updates, Shops and Discussions
The fact that these searches are more accessible means that Google can better direct users' experiences on the internet and cement their position as king of Search.
Searching by time the site was last updated
This will be a huge disadvantage to sites that do not update their sites regularly.