Google has been such a dominating force for so long, (in fact, according to Experian Hitwise, Google increased its U.S. market share by about 2.0 percent last month) that the mere fact that its new look search results layout, appeared similar to its competitors had its critics chortling.

The fact that Google's archrivals, Bing, Yahoo and the now comatose Ask (some believe Ask was a trailblazer when it comes to serving search results in this format) had already implemented these changes a while ago was instrumental in creating the impression that Google is lagging behind others.

So what is in the revamped layout that made Google appear like a straggler?

The newly integrated left-hand navigation panel is in itself an offshoot of the Kingsbury and Andre study published in 2004. As if this lack of uniqueness was not galling enough, the fact that its competitors had integrated the same elements on their search result pages a long time ago, made it look as if Google for once was playing catch-up.

Though it may look as if Google is indeed playing catch-up, the fact remains, Google has always scored over its rivals by its almost intuitive ability to ferret out the right results.

This, will remain unchanged as it is Google's own Universal Search, Search Options Panel and Google Squared that is powering the left hand panel.

These three, tested over the last 3 years, will accentuate the superiority of their search results and will surely leave its competitors languishing in the dust and its critics looking on wistfully.

Before long the world will realise that it is not Google but its competitors who have to play catch-up.

Arnold Stanley is a Content Writer at Eon Softtech Ltd a recognised name in the U.K. web design & development industry. Eon Softtech Ltd designs & develops websites that suits every budget and e-commerce activity. Eon Softtech Ltd, is known for its expertise in E-Commerce and Internet Marketing in the U.K. Eon Softtech Ltd's Internet Marketing skills encompass Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) & Search Engine Marketing (SEM).