As previously reported by industry publication Search Engine Land, there is wide speculation that Google will be changing the layout of text ads on Google.com. This should not come as a huge surprise to most, since the product listing ads (PLAs) have begun to slowly take over the right hand rail of the page in many search queries. Here is a perfect example of this, using the keyword “ipad”:
Although Google’s Product Listing Ads (PLAs) are not new to advertisers, we have seen an increasing amount of page share being used in the past year for these types of ads. So with this upcoming potential change to text ads on Google, where does this leave advertisers?
MoreVisibility will research this change further to determine the best strategic course of action for each advertiser. It will be crucial to have good historical data to rely upon, for comparisons (before and after a page layout change like this) as well as to justify any additional bidding expenses, to appear in higher positions on the page.
I have always been a firm believer that being in the #1 position on the Google page for SEM ads isn’t always a winning strategy. There are varying opinions on whether top ad or side ad positioning performs better. However, if the page layout is changing to showing ads only on the top and bottom – then this strategy or philosophy may need to be revisited. The #4 and #5 positions could have drastic performance differences in this new format than they currently do as the ad would now appear at the bottom of the page versus the top right rail – or even a little lower down the right rail.
Stay tuned for further feedback in our upcoming Digital Marketing newsletters, SEM blog, as well as feedback from Google on this potential change.
