Google made an announcement last month about removing the advertisements on the right hand side of desktop search results but increasing the number of ads at the top of the search results from three to four.
Google has certainly made the marketers rethink on their paid search campaigns via Ads. The big question is; what impact is this going to have on the organic search?
Google’s decision of displaying four paid ads and pushing the organic search further down the page dill definitely have an impact on brands that focus entirely on organic rankings. Since this has only been in action for the last month is too early to predict its entire impact. However, it has certainly changed the plan of many marketers if they have been using “AdWords”.
What are the reasons for this change by Google?
- Replicating the mobile browser experience on desktop. As mobile searches are higher than those coming from a desktop Google has adjusted the desktop version to match the experience of a mobile device.
- Entice Users to click on advertisements more frequently. Now when you are searching for a general product such as a “Men’s Shirt” half of the screen is taking up by adverts, therefore increasing the number of times people are likely to click on them.
- Additional space for Google product listing ads. Now that ads no longer appear on the right hand side it has opened up some space for the product listing advertisements without making the layout feel overcrowded and not user friendly.
Will this impact organic searches?
It may, although it is hard to say exactly how. Adding in more advertisements above the organic search would be that the user had to look past the adverts to get to the organic search. It will be harder to sustain the same amount of impressions and clicks.
So what is the step for businesses looking for the pole position on Google?
Less organic searches on the page create it hard for the user to find you. Here are some suggestions how to stay near the top without getting into a bidding war with your competitors.
If you currently have a Pay Per Click campaign running, then review your new results by navigating to the tools tab and clicking on “Ad Preview and Diagnosis”
Review your average position for given keywords. If you are lower than third or fourth you will be pushed below the fold on the first screen. This will make it harder to receive clicks.
To overcome these issues, you will either need to increase your keyword usage via search engine optimisation or you will need to compete in the ad word bidding.
