I like the image of results from 2005. I had totally forgotten about "Froogle".
shopping.google.com
New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
61–70 of 142 posts
Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The real question is will I be seeing a banner for Southwest when I search for JetBlue." It's not so much what you are going to see, as what you're not going to see. I'm sure BP is happy to buy a shiny image ad and take traffic away from wikipedias article on the deepwater horizon oil spill.
Unless that ad doesn't knock the Deepwater Horizon down past the fold, and it paints BP in a terrible light. It can go both ways.
When searching for "BP", all of the results are relevant, but none are about Deepwater Horizon.
Interestingly though, at the bottom of the page, I see Google has an "In-depth Articles" section that has three articles, all about spills, two of them critical of BP.
Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#63They look like Altavista in 2002. Glad I switched to DuckDuckGo three months ago. Adios, Google!
Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
The main difference seems to be that today even getting the top organic search result doesn't provide enough clicks for advertisers, so they feel obliged to purchase ads for their own brand names even when they already rank first. It should be noted that this instance is simply a test and should not be taken as an indication of how these ads will be purchased. While I'm sure there will be numerous advertisers who fee…
"The real question is will I be seeing a banner for Southwest when I search for JetBlue." It's not so much what you are going to see, as what you're not going to see. I'm sure BP is happy to buy a shiny image ad and take traffic away from wikipedias article on the deepwater horizon oil spill.
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Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#65Page and Brin themselves once pointed out the problems of accepting ads or paid placement, with some rather ironic examples: Furthermore, advertising income often provides an incentive to provide poor quality search results. For example, we noticed a major search engine would not return a large airline's homepage when the airline's name was given as a query. It so happened that the airline had placed an expensive ad,…
>If people searching for Southwest Airlines on Google aren't ending up on the Southwest Airlines website without a huge great banner ad (despite it being ranked at the top of the results) then something is going badly wrong on the Google search results page.
Or maybe they are, and this is simply an example of a branding bonus/partnership for big spenders. We have no idea what the economics are and why.
Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#66Page and Brin themselves once pointed out the problems of accepting ads or paid placement, with some rather ironic examples: Furthermore, advertising income often provides an incentive to provide poor quality search results. For example, we noticed a major search engine would not return a large airline's homepage when the airline's name was given as a query. It so happened that the airline had placed an expensive ad,…
"If people searching for Southwest Airlines on Google aren't ending up on the Southwest Airlines website without a huge great banner ad (despite it being ranked at the top of the results) then something is going badly wrong on the Google search results page."
Perhaps the metric being optimised isn't conversion to home page landings. Perhaps there is something deeper in their funnel which benefits from the visual experience starting one click earlier.
Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#67I was worried when I saw this headline, and then very relieved when I saw what was actually going on. So long as Google only returns these sponsored ads for searches for the company name, I don't see this as being a problem at all, given the fact that many users are using the address bar integrated search in place of bookmarking or typing URLs. Where this would become a problem is if they start expanding this to sear…
I was under the impression that Southwest didn't let third party sites take reservations for them.
Oh, that might be. I was only trying to make a general point about how ad placement like that could easily go too far, at least in the eyes of some. I actually try to avoid flying Southwest whenever possible just because I hate having to queue up at the gate.
Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
It becomes problematic when these companies get control over the content of a brand search. There are ramifications for consumer advocacy. What happens when I start searching for "apple sec ruling" and I am given a full page sponsored ad courtesy of apple? I see that as giving companies a chance to bury insightful or informative content that may not be positive.
"Apple SEC ruling" is a fairly specific keyword search whereas searching, blanketly, for a company name is not.
But maybe I'm thirsting to learn more about the juicy fruit. Do I get a page courtesy of Apple Inc too?
Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
The main difference seems to be that today even getting the top organic search result doesn't provide enough clicks for advertisers, so they feel obliged to purchase ads for their own brand names even when they already rank first. It should be noted that this instance is simply a test and should not be taken as an indication of how these ads will be purchased. While I'm sure there will be numerous advertisers who fee…
This may be fallout from trademark owners losing their various lawsuits against Google for allowing competitors to advertise on their trademark as keyword. (See this article: http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2013/05/google_crushes.... ) So now they may be the top organic result (or even a navigation result) but JetBlue or United or whatever can buy a banner on top that has their airline telling the searcher how m…
If they follow through with what you suggest, I wonder if it will be the straw that breaks the camels back in regards to an antitrust lawsuit by the government.
Re: New banner ads push actual Google results to bottom 12% of the screen
#70Someone searching for Southwest Airlines is probably looking for... Southwest Airlines. So the very first result is a useful one. With sections of the official website conveniently linked and a pretty picture on top. This sounds to me like a complete non-issue. If you don't like ads, install AdBlock. Of course if you need clicks for your website, carry on.
Precisely. If Southwest's banner hit for "cheap airfare" or something similar, this would indeed be outrageous. But this just seems like useful (and sponsored) info being offered without needing to click-through. Somewhat sensationalist.
Consider an alternate universe where Southwest Airlines has a worse reputation due to a variety of bad practices they've engaged in. These banner ads have the potential for pushing many hits describing these practices further down the page, stifling the ability for organic results to properly reflect public opinion on a company.