For once, all the Google Browser rumors have died down, and lo and behold, Google’s gone and announced a browser. It’ll either be huge or nothing. I can’t wait to try it out.

For the first time in a while, Google has a legitimate challenger: Cuil. (Found via.) Developed by a group of Google alumni, Cuil differs from the other so-called Google-killers. A simple search quickly shows the difference; Cuil actually works pretty well. On top of that, this search engine innovates intelligently.

Query Refinement Tabs and Drilldowns

Query refinement options are some of the coolest innovations Cuil offers. Across the top of search result pages, a series of tabs offer query refinements. To the right of the results, there’s a sliding drilldown menu. Both are great ideas, however, both become much less sparsely populated as queries increase in complexity. [Home improvement] offered some great alternatives, but [how to install a dishwasher] and [stopped up sink] each offered no refinements. Hopefully, the refinement engine will improve with time.

Laid Out

Cuil tries, even dares, to be different. In fact, the search engine practically shouts it with its layout. Unfortunately, daring to be different sometimes feels like being different for its own sake. The homepage, for example, bears a striking resemblance to Google … except it’s laid over a trendy black background. The search result pages differentiate by displaying left to right in a reading layout, but the layout created a confusing hierarchy of results to my eyes (maybe I’ve been pre-conditioned for Google.) They also offer a relevant picture next to the result excerpts, but during my tests, these excerpt pictures weren’t too relevant. Dogs and cats were displaying next to [How to install a dishwasher].

With a claim of 120 billion pages indexed, Cuil would seem to have the technological might to take on the giant. They pose some interesting innovations. Rather than celebrate, however, Cuil’s team should try copying a page from Google’s book and striving for better performance and result relevancy. While Google might not need to quake in their boots yet, it probably wouldn’t hurt to take notice. If Cuil ever does become a threat, I’m sure they’ll quickly be acquired.

I wrote a co-worker a round-up of some great Google/SEO articles that I’ve seen lately and thought it was worth sharing with the rest of the world. There’s just been a bunch of good articles lately on SEO and how Google works.

• Google describing How Google Works

  Google doesn’t like to share the inner working of Google very often. And when they do, it’s usually a very bird’s eye view. But when they do speak up, it’s well worth listening.

  Favorite Quote: “We make about ten ranking changes every week …”

  People always ask me, “How exactly will this piece of information effect ranking?” Of course, I usually answer, “I’m not completely sure.” One of the reasons why it’s so hard to nail down exactly how things are ranked is because it’s constantly changing! On top of that, it actually is extremely complex. I doubt there’s any one person who can actually answer all the questions about Google–including anyone at Google.

• What happens when you search Google

  This is article does a great job of expressing the complexity of Google in layman terms. It basically follows the path that your search takes as it goes through Google and back to you with results.

  Favorite Quote: “The query is then executed, simultaneously hitting 300 to 400 back-end machines representing Google’s verticals, advertising and spell check among others.”

  Told you it was complicated.

• The Truth About SEO

  … is that it’s a slow, deliberate process that you perform over time. I’d compare it to losing weight. When you see that magazine headline that says “Lose 17 pounds in a week,” guess how reliable that is.

  This article has a great graph illustrating his search engine growth, slowly and steadily over time. Pretty much the only way to do it. I also like how the author dilutes it all down to 2 simple rules.

Okay, I’m taking a deep look into my crystal ball tonight. It’s cloudy, but I think I see something. I predict that what people are calling Gmail 2.0 is actually a first step to the gPhone. Here’s my reasoning:

Starting with the gPhone, the rumors went from some grand piece of perfect hardware to a much more conventional suite of mobile software. And it looks like Gmail 2.0 is really just revamped contact management across Google’s platforms. Now, what’s the most important thing that people always are afraid of losing on their mobile phones? Their contacts.

Everyone’s looking to keep them safe, move them to their next phone, etc. No one wants to reenter them. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone developed a solution to sync and store them across multiple platforms on multiple devices?

Easy contact syncing would make for pretty good incentive to install software on your mobile phone. It also fits into Google’s mission of making the world’s information more accessible.

Now let’s wait and see if I’m psychic or not.