AdSense Text Ads Get Biggest Makeover In Recent Memory

In a nod to consistency across platforms and the growth in mobile usage, Google has overhauled its AdSense text ads to be more mobile-friendly, adding a large arrow button to each ad that should make it easier for “fat fingers” to click effectively on tablets and mobile phones. The buttons will also appear on desktop versions of text ads on the Google Display Network.

The new text ads also feature slight changes to font size, spacing and text layout. Google says its experiments with the new format indicate an uplift in clicks across publishers. No changes will occur on text ads displaying on Google.com or other search partners.

The changes will begin appearing automatically and will be based on the color palette publishers have chosen for their ad units. If the background of the ad units is white, the arrow icon will be grey. For other background colors, the arrow button will be a different shade of the background color. Google’s policies forbid any publisher from placing similar-looking arrows or images around their ad units.

Reaction from publishers to the new units seems to be mixed, with some saying the arrows are too big and ugly, and others praising the new look.

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: AdSense | Google: AdWords

About The Author: Pamela Parker is a contributing editor for Search Engine Land and Executive Features Editor at Marketing Land. She’s a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since 1998, including a stint as managing editor of ClickZ. She’s also worked to help monetize independent publishers’ sites at Federated Media Publishing. She blogs about media and marketing at The River and about cooking, gardening and parenthood at Free Range. She can be found on Twitter as @pamelaparker. See more articles by Pamela Parker

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Nick Drewe

Despite a Google policy not allowing publishers to place similar looking arrows around the ad unit, I still think these are misleading and will possibly lead to an increase in accidental clicks on mobile and tablet devices.

Navigating to the right (the turning of a page) is the natural flow through content on these devices. I think many crafty advertisers will take advantage of a well placed ad unit to encourage accidental, or unintended clicks.
http://www.pluswriter.com/ dirk041

Hopefully more people interested to click it…^_^
http://twitter.com/askppc Cleofe Betancourt

The placement of the arrows will likely increase the number of incidental clicks, as mentioned by Nick Drewe below. I’m curious; Will clicking the arrows be the only way to visit the advertiser websites?
http://ftc.gov/ MonopolizedSearch

Those are some ugly arrows. In fact, the ugliness of the arrows overtakes the title of the ad. A real turnoff in my opinion.
Techpm

The arrows are terrible and confusing as it mixes with site navigation. Ending up on wrong sites is the sort of thing that makes my blood boil AND A REASON WHY I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING THAT IS ADVERTISED THIS WAY.