You may have noticed a slight change over the last week if you entered a Google search on your desktop. There’s a lot of debate as to whether that change is affecting what we perceive as an ad.
This redesign first appeared in May on Google search for mobile devices. At the time, Google said the move was prompted by a desire to help users “better understand where the information is coming from and what pages have what [they’re] looking for.” Bringing that same design to desktops this month adds to the consistency of the search experience, regardless of the device, according to Google.
Google’s recent change shows a small favicon of the business who’s content generated organic traffic, but ads actually have their own “favicon” in the same place as businesses. We can see why the change seems like it can confuse a Googler about whether a result is an ad or not. But this has not been the first time Google has changed their search result ad design. Search Engine Land has posted a helpful infographic showing how Google’s design tweaks in search have evolved.
Not everyone in the marketing industry agrees with Google’s assumption on user experience. Some suggest that ads have become more subtle over the years, arguing that Googe’s mission of “do no harm” has been compromised in their claim that the changes they are making will ultimately benefit Google more than the end-user –> you and me.
Other marketing professionals look at their client’s data post-Google release and say they did not see any change in click-through rates from their clients. And while this may be true, the opposing camp suggests that banner blindness will eventually take hold and that the data will skew over time in the advertiser’s favor. If users unconsciously ignore the “Ad” favicon, advertisers will see higher click-through rates, but if it’s as intuitively different as Google says it is, then the balance in the universe between advertisers and organic business results will remain.
What does this mean for real estate? If search behavior shows that this subtle change actually promotes users clicking on Ads more than on organic traffic, then prepare to increase your advertising budget. The jury is still out, but this is something to keep a close eye on.