PPC | February 23, 2016
Google Has Stopped Showing Ads on the Right of SERPs!
Googled something this week and felt something was not quite right, different, when the results appeared. Well, it’s not you imagining things. Google has stopped showing ads on the right hand side of its SERPs.
Bye-Bye Side Panels
After a long-running test, Google will no longer be showing ads to the right of its search results. But PPC aficionados don’t panic, ads will still appear at the top and bottom of the page.
In fact, Google has announced it will show an additional ad result, raising the usual three results to an even four above the search results, for what they deem ‘highly commercial queries’. In an official statement Google explained:
“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.”
Exceptions to the Rule
These changes have now been rolled out across all languages worldwide, however there are two exceptions to the new rule:
1. Product Listing Ad Boxes (PLAs) – these can show above or to the right of search results
2. Ads in the Knowledge Panel
Why the Change?
This is something Google has been toying with for some years now, but why? Well, we can only imagine it is to align its mobile and desktop SERP designs. Without the ads on the right of the desktop view, the appearance is similar to that of the mobile view.
So, will this affect the way you approach PPC? And do you think this is a change for the better? Tweet us your thoughts and queries to @_libertydigital