Google’s desktop search results page is undergoing a change that will mean fewer ads displaying for many queries.
The company is rolling out a change worldwide that eliminates ads on the right side of a desktop search results page. It affects all queries in all languages around the world. It also brings Google’s desktop search results page into closer alignment with its mobile search results, which (obviously) don’t have any space to the right of the screen.
There’s one exception when ads may still show on the right side of desktop search results: Product Listing Ads will continue to appear either above or to the right of search results.
To make up for the loss of the rest of the right-side ads, Google is adding a fourth ad above the search results, but only on “highly commercial queries,” as explained in Google’s official statement:
“We’ve been testing this layout for a long time, so some people might see it on a very small number of commercial queries. We’ll continue to make tweaks, but this is designed for highly commercial queries where the layout is able to provide more relevant results for people searching and better performance for advertisers.”
A company spokesperson says this fourth ad might show for searches like “car insurance” or “hotels in New York City.”
For more on the change, see our coverage on Search Engine Land: FAQ: All About The Changes To Google’s Ad Layout On Desktop Search Results.
Postscript, February 22: We’ve put together all of the latest information on this Google ads change in Ginny Marvin’s article: FAQ: All About The Changes To Google’s Ad Layout On Desktop Search Results.
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