On Friday, February 19th, 2016, Google made a significant change to the layout of AdWords on desktop devices. Google employee, Matt Lawson, sites this change as an opportunity to “improve the user experience on Google Search and to make that experience consistent across desktop, tablet and mobile.” While Google’s commitment to always putting the experience of their customers first is something that all businesses should aspire to, it certainly does have an impact on those businesses who utilize AdWords as a way to drive traffic to their sites.

Google AdWords Layout Changes in a Nut Shell:

  • Increased the number of paid ads at the top of the page from 3 to 4
  • Pushed 1st organic search engine result even lower, and even below the fold on some devices
  • Removed the (up to) 8 paid sidebar ads
  • Added 3 paid ads at the bottom of the search results page
  • Total number of paid ads being displayed decreased from a possible 11 to a maximum of 7

The Benefits:

  • Paid search ads now look more natural with the new format
  • Paid ads located in the 4th listing position (now at the top of the page as opposed to the side) will receive significantly more click-throughs than when they were located on the side
  • All ads will now display additional features like sitelinks

The Pitfalls:

  • Organic search listings will take a hit since they are no longer immediately visible on the loaded page
  • Pay-Per-Click campaign budgets will need to be increased in order to beat the competition and appear on the coveted first page results

What These Changes to Google AdWords Means for Your Business

Unfortunately, only time and the resulting data will tell how these changes will truly affect advertisers and the effectiveness of their campaigns and current strategy. However, a few things are already becoming clear:

  • Advertisers will need to adjust their bidding strategy in order to optimize their campaign(s)
  • An increase in cost per click (CPC) will result due to the lack of “supply” (primarily for service providers)
  • The more commercial your business (insurance, hotels, gym memberships) the larger the number of competing ad spaces will be shown

Additional Thoughts from the Experts:

  • It is important to note that this latest round of changes to Google AdWords will only display on a user’s desktop, while mobile results will remain the same visually—for now
  • Google claims that the appearance of the top four ads are only meant to appear under the occurrence of a highly commercial query (those showing a deep intention to buy), however, we’ve found that these four ads will display even under such general search terms as “makeup tips”
  • This change is global, meaning that no matter where you are searching from or what language you are searching in, these newest changes to Google AdWords will still appear

Wait, There’s More!

While the SEO and SEM world are abuzz with talk of the latest Google AdWords update, the real story here may be about how this AdWords update is setting the stage for their next rollout. Our sources have hinted towards the development of what we’ll refer to as the “Google Store” (seeing as how a name has yet to be released to the public).

While we’ve all seen Google’s Product Listing Ads (PLAs) which allows for those users searching for a particular product to be able to view (currently located on the right-had side or within the top paid ads) different business offerings, the Google Store will (we assume) be more along the lines of a rival to Amazon. This Google Store is said to feature the ability to shop through search results, allowing you to purchase products with just the click of your mouse from the search listings page, and are presumed to take the place of the not-long-gone sidebar ads.
At Green Group Studio, we offer SEO and SEM services to companies big and small. In such a competitive market, it’s important to maintain and increase your online presence on a consistent basis. This requires an SEO professional who is up-to-date with what’s going on with leading search engines, and who understands how their actions can affect your online marketing strategy. To learn more about Google’s latest AdWords update, or to find out about setting up or optimizing an AdWords campaign, call us today at (561)594-7336!