Google is testing giant banner ads on search results pages, with 30 advertisers on board, breaking an 8-year promise in the process. Google testing sponsored cover photos in SERPs cc: @rustybrick @douglaskwong pic.twitter.com/xN7Z8GHZPa — Synrgy (@SynrgyHQ) October 23, 2013 The news, first reported by local app firm Synrgy HQ on its Twitter feed, was accompanied […]
Google is testing giant banner ads on search results pages, with 30 advertisers on board, breaking an 8-year promise in the process.
Google testing sponsored cover photos in SERPs cc: @rustybrick @douglaskwong pic.twitter.com/xN7Z8GHZPa
— Synrgy (@SynrgyHQ) October 23, 2013
The news, first reported by local app firm Synrgy HQ on its Twitter feed, was accompanied by a picture showing a massive banner ad right underneath the search bar (see above).
The firm said that Google has about 30 advertising partners for its “brand image experiment.”
Ads are reportedly appearing in less than 5% of search queries. Crate & Barrel and Virgin America are said to be among the advertising partners.
Google later confirmed that it was running the ‘small experiment’ in the US to Search Engine Land.
Synrgy also provided access to the HTML page, showing that the ad consists of the banner only. The Southwest Airlines text listing and sitelinks below the image are standard organic results.
The move also breaks a promise that Google made back in 2005, when then-VP of Search Products & User Experience Marissa Mayer wrote: “There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search results pages. There will not be crazy flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping up all over the Google site. Ever.”
The banners might drive more traffic to the advertiser than traditional search ads, but they also push related search results much farther down the page than before.
