It wasn’t so long ago that Google displayed ads both at the top and on the right hand side of a search results page—but if you’ve been paying attention to searches over the past week, you know that this format has been altered. Google no longer displays PPC ads on the right side of the page, a change that may be worrisome to those who invest heavily in these ads. You may be wondering why Google has made this change—and what it ultimately means for your ad campaign?

Why Did Google Make This Change?

Here’s the full extent of the change Google has made: First of all, search ads are no longer being shown on the right side of the results page. At the same time, however, Google has also introduced a fourth ad for “highly commercial” queries at the top of the page. Product listing ads, meanwhile, do still qualify to show up on the right hand side.

In considering these changes, the first thing to note is that Google is obviously not going to do anything that might harm its revenues. This new model is one they’ve been testing extensively, likely for years. The realization Google has come to is that adding that fourth ad to the top of the page will yield more revenues than having the ads on the right hand side—simple as that.

The other factor Google is considering is mobile. For mobile devices, there are no ads displayed in the site of the page currently, nor have there been. So by removing those side ads but putting another one on top, Google is not only increasing ad revenues but also improving the user experience for that all-important mobile group—really, a win-win.

What Does This Mean for Your Campaign?

Since Google is aiming to increase its revenues through this move, you can anticipate that your ads are going to be shown more and clicked on more. Remember, Google wants to provide a better product to its users and improve its ad revenues. It’s engineered this new setup with the understanding that it will prompt customers to use PPC ads even more. Paid ads are going to get more clicks, and those who make it into the top four for their chosen keywords will be poised to do better than ever with their paid ads.

Bottom line: This is all good news for your PPC strategy, assuming you approach it prudently.

And the enCOMPASS team will help you to do exactly that. We are, of course, going to be monitoring this situation closely and advising our clients along the way. After all—that’s what we do.

In the meantime, here’s our quick rundown of what you can expect in the near future:

• A jump in CPCs (Cost Per Clicks) as advertisers fight to show their ads in the three/four ad spaces;
• Higher CTRs (click-through rates) when ads are shown, as there will be only three or four ads on which users can click;
• More real estate for SEM ads on the results page (when four ads are shown); and
• If enCOMPASS is running your PPC campaign - a call from us within the next few campaign cycles to review the impact this has on your PPC campaign.

We’ll be in touch—but for now, please feel free to contact us with any further questions about your pay-per-click campaign!