Google just announced the latest change to its product line, though the tweak amounts to little more than a rebranding. As of May 20, 2015, the online service formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools will now be referred to as Google Search Console across all Google properties. So far, neither the service’s page layout nor its tools/ functionality have been altered as a result of the brand refresh.
A screenshot of a Google Search Console page demonstrating the branding change. (https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/other-links)
Google Webmaster Tools was first unveiled about a decade ago and has since served as a portal for a host of tools, such as Google News Sitemap Submission, for users who work on or develop websites to use to improve their properties’ Google search rankings. This nominal change comes following the recent significant revamping of the Search Queries report, renamed Search Analytics, which now breaks down search data and filters it in many different ways for a more precise means of analysis.
As for the reasoning behind the change, the team at Google felt the name of the service should better reflect its actual users, i.e. “everyone who cares about Search” and not only webmasters (Announcing Google Search Console – the new Webmaster Tools). What do you think? Was the name change necessary, superfluous, or a downright mistake? Keep up to date on the latest news on Google and digital marketing in general by following us on Twitter, @ovrdrv.
