Google AdWords: Welcome Top 4, Goodbye Right-Hand Ads

[jrineakter]

After months of testing, it is finally clear what course Google wants to take with Google AdWords ads for desktop searches. Google will no longer show ads in the right column and will no longer show three, but four paid ads for competitive keywords. This means the end of search results as we know them.


What does the change look like?
At the end of 2015, you would occasionally see search results with four paid search results. The update was first rolled out in America and England and can now also be seen in the Dutch version of the search engine. According to Google, four paid advertisements are now visible for keywords with a 'high commercial value'. The interpretation of 'high commercial value' is subjective. When I look at current AdWords campaigns, the new top 4 is shown for the majority of the campaigns. The new top 4 looks like this:

Google Adwords top 4There are two exceptions where results are shown in the right column, namely:

Google Shopping Campaigns
Knowledge graph boxes
Normally there were 3 ads shown at the top of the page and multiple ads on the side. After the update, number 4 shifts from the right side to the top of the page and numbers 5,6,7 are placed at the bottom of the organic search results.

What are the implications for marketers and visitors?
The new update has a big impact on both online marketers and visitors. Read the three most important consequences below.

1. Fewer impressions and fewer clicks for your ads
For competitive keywords, in certain industries with price comparison engines it was a smart move to aim for a position on the right side and then especially on position 4,5,6. The azerbaijan telegram number list cost-per-click for these positions were lower compared to the top 3, but you still achieved a large number of impressions. Now that only four paid ads are shown at the top of the page and three ads at the bottom of the page, the number of impressions for ads lower than an average position of 4.0 will be much lower. In other words, the difference in the number of clicks/impressions between the top four and non-top 4 becomes much greater.

2. Increasing cost-per-click
Now that the visibility in the right column is disappearing, the battle for a top 3 and 4 spot will become even more fierce. Visibility at the top of the search results will become even more important. As a result, the cost-per-click will increase even further and it will become more difficult for companies with a relatively small budget to realize an effective cost-per-lead on Google AdWords.

3. Fewer organic search results above the fold
With the introduction of four ads at the top of the search results, the visibility of the non-paid ads, or organic search results, 'above the fold' decreases significantly. The number of search results shown depends on the size of a screen. At the most popular resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels, only one organic search result is visible above the fold.