Reneging on a 2005 promise to never show banner ads on its
homepage or web search results, Google has begun testing banner ads on its web
search results page with about 30 advertisers in the US, including Southwest
Airlines and Crate & Barrel. This
test allows advertisers to include a large image as part of the search ads that
appear in response to certain branded queries.
The ads currently show for less than 5 percent of search queries.
It will be interesting to see how much incremental value
these banner ads actually provide in terms of click-through rate or brand
awareness given that the user is already searching for the brand. However an image of a gleaming new jet or a
beautifully decorated living room that appears above the top search results could
certainly help with brand reinforcement. From a user experience perspective, it’s
important that the ads don’t interfere with the existing placement of other ads
and tab links, although a bit more scrolling down the page may now be required to
see the search results.
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