Until recently, when you searched for something on Google, you likely saw three ads on top followed by organic search results. There were also ads on the right side of the screen when searching on a desktop or laptop.
However, Google just recently rolled out a change that affects pay-per-click text advertising in search engines.
Google Says Goodbye to Some Desktop Ads
Google has officially said “goodbye” to ads on the right side of your search results. Now, there are three to four ads on the top, followed by organic, and then a couple more ads at the bottom. Apparently, “highly commercial” searches will include four ads at the top of search results, with others having the traditional three.
See the search snippet below (our client Motivated Movers is at the top!):
As evidenced in the graphic above, there are now four search results above the map – and there are no longer any ads on the right side of the screen.
What does all of this mean for advertisers and searchers?
Increased Cost-Per-Click
Although this new change has not been active enough to gauge the full ramifications, we highly suspect that this modification to search results will lead to a higher cost for competitive markets.
Ultimately, there are now fewer spots on the first page. Therefore, the bidding wars to be on the first page will likely increase – as will costs for advertisers.
Therefore, if you are in a competitive market, chances are you will be paying more in order to stay on the front page for popular search terms.
Decrease in Organic Search Results
In the “highly commercial” markets that will now include four ads at the top of search results, there are fewer spots for organic listings. Therefore, businesses trying to compete for organic spots on the first page will now have at least one fewer spot in an already competitive arena.
For searchers, this means your results are saturated with ads when it comes to highly commercial searches. Therefore, to get truly local and organic results, there may be a need to venture to the second page (which most searchers simply will not do).
Overall Impact
Who knows! This change is simply too new for any of us to know its effect on pay-per-click text ad prices and search engine marketing tactics (both paid and organic). Similarly, it’s too soon to determine if this change will affect search behaviors by searchers.
We simply know that this change is here, and now desktop searches closely resemble mobile search results, meaning that there are no longer ads on the right side of desktop search results.
Stay tuned to see our findings of this change’s effect on search engine marketing as we collect more data and analyze the results.
Questions About Search Engine Marketing?
Do you have questions about search engine marketing, including how to help your business show up in search results? If so, contact Uptick Marketing in Birmingham, Alabama, today!
