After making substantial changes to the look and feel of sponsored ads, Google.com recently added the opening line of the ad’s headline tag and placed the domain name at the end of the headline. Google has also stepped up its efforts to implement a complete radical change in the appearance of links, both sponsored and natural. The URL is now highlighted in green just below the title of an ad.
Compared to the last change (transferring addresses under a title, which makes more sense for a business user), the previous two changes (extension of title sponsored links) set clear goals and were more like sponsored links. The difference between ads and ‘unpaid’ links is becoming increasingly blurred. Logically it leads to the fact that more and more people click on sponsored links. It’s a very logical move on Google’s part, as sponsored links such as PPC (pay per click) advertising and “Google AdWords” remain the only source of funding for search engine giant Google. Also, PPC advertising attracts several other activities, free of charge.
Extension ad headline text has yet to prove effective for both Google and advertisers. Title highlighting is valid only for the first (max 3) sponsored positions above the natural search results. This benefit does not apply to sponsored links on the right side of the results. This of course leads to increased competition up front and then increases the average CPC (cost per click) for the top positions.
This effort is, of course, very logical from Google’s perspective, because it increases revenue. It builds on all previous changes to the appearance of search results pages. For example, the ‘paid links’ ads appear to be the ‘most popular’ links on the pages, expanding on the URL and perhaps finally the previous product expansions. All these changes are valid only for the few forward positions (maximum 3 positions).
The question is whether you are putting too much pressure on Google’s preference for leading positions and thus driving up click prices. But it is a reality that advertisers must remember if they want to advertise on Google. This will benefit those advertisers who are able to withstand the fight on the front lines or who can effectively manage PPC advertising. Google had made similar changes last August (2010) when it put an emphasis on ‘Sklik’ advertising.
It will be interesting to see if the list will continue to favor Sklik’s advertising model in the top position on Google. Sklik is likely to become Google’s biggest earner and it won’t be long.
Without a doubt, it is beneficial to follow these changes and use them as soon as possible, since it offers the possibility of always being one step ahead of the competition.