by Dave Ingalls
Digital Marketing Consultant
June 10, 2010
Link to main Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Web page
UPDATE: Google relented after about 4-5 hours on June 10th, went back to the simple white background Home Page that I (and obviously many others) love, and made using a photo background image on this page completely optional. That action by Google made the major point of this blog post moot, but it did not eliminate the very good idea of using the Google/Firefox Search Home page as your de facto Google Search start page to help fund FireFox’s browser development – that’s why this post is still worth reading.
Hate the “new, improved” Google Home page with “world class photographer” images and no way to change back to the classic, simple Google Home page? Me too!!
Remember the “Good Old Days” (yesterday!) when the Google Home Page looked like this:
Even though it’s only supposed to last 24 hours, it’s driving me nuts!! I hate it!!
Here’s a quick fix –
If you’re like me, you use the Google Home page as the default home page in your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.). All you need to do is change that default Home page to the Google search page that Google set up for Firefox (NOTE: Unfortunately this option is no longer available)
This Google/Firefox search page is not as clean as the original Google search home page, but it’s close! Most importantly, as of this blog post (approx. 8 a.m. US East Coast time) it has not been “improved” by the geniuses at Google!
What’s Firefox? Most of you probably know that’s it’s an alternative browser to the Internet Explorer browser. What you might not know is that it’s produced by the Mozilla Foundation, that this foundation is a non-profit organization and that Google helps to fund Mozilla by setting up this special Google search page. Every time a Google search is started from the Google/Firefox search page, Google donates a small amount of money to the Mozilla Foundation.
So not only can you get an almost Google-like plain vanilla search start page, every time you perform a search from that page you are helping support the main competitor to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer! That’s a pretty good one-two punch!