The Official Google Blog has a post detailing the usability tests they put Advanced Search through.  It brings to light a few important nuances, such as users many times don’t actually think about the searches they submit.  This causes the problem of designing both for thinking users and for non-thinking users.  This problem is much like having to design both for power users and non-technical users.

The most important part of their redesign, however, comes from the feature that Dan mentions at the end of the post:

One of the other things we noted in the field study was that people often didn’t understand how the Advanced Search page worked. So we added a “visible query builder” region at the top of the page. As you fill in the blanks, the box at the top of the page fills in with the query that you could type into Google. It was our way of making visible the effects of advanced search operators.

This is extremely important, as it will help users get acquainted with power searches.  The syntax of power searches, once learned, can provide an easy way to find exactly what you’re looking for.  Knowing how to limit your searches to a certain site or to eliminate search terms can help zero in on what you are looking for.  I don’t know how many times I use that feature per day, but it significantly increases my work output when I am looking for how to do something.

The “visible query builder” fulfills two key things.  First, it provides a powerful tool for non-technical users to help decrease the time it takes to find what they are looking for.  Second, it can teach those users how to use power searches more quickly and easily each time they use the tool.  Eventually, it is hoped, they will be able to use power searches without relying on the crutch of the query builder.  This seems to be much like the approach of SQL query builders that have been around for a while.  Granted, it won’t streamline searching as much as the SQL builders have streamlined that process, but that’s in the nature of the beast.  It’s impossible to automate anything that requires user input, after all.

I like to see Google improve their products and make them more usable.  It’s also interesting to see the process they go through to improve.  This is why they are on top of the search market and if they keep up their current practices, they will stay on top for a while to come.