More See Horizontal Look For Top Three Google Ads

By Pamela Parker

Published: January 14, 2011 at 1:48 pm

Reports keep coming in that Google is testing a new format for its top three ads. The new format — in which the headline is combined with the first description line, or the two description lines are combined — has been spotted as far afield as the United Kingdom.

The effect, some have suggested, makes the top content-column ads look more like the organic search results below, in that they stretch out further to the right.

Screen Shot 2011 01 14 At 12.27.43 PM

Google isn’t commenting beyond its usual response to tests seen in the wild. “We are always experimenting with the look and feel of our search result pages, including the delivery of relevant advertising,” spokesperson Jim Prosser told me when I inquired about the widely-seen test.

Google Ipad

The company continually tries different displays in an effort to boost click-through rates. It recently changed the way it shows the domain portion of the URL in its AdWords ads, so that the domain is consistently lower case. In announcing that change, the company said it helped improve many of its metrics, including click-through rate.

Hat tip to John Ellis and Emma Chun for passing along news of this.

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About the author

Pamela Parker

Pamela Parker is Research Director at Third Door Media's Content Studio, where she produces MarTech Intelligence Reports and other in-depth content for digital marketers in conjunction with Search Engine Land and MarTech. Prior to taking on this role at TDM, she served as Content Manager, Senior Editor and Executive Features Editor. Parker is a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since its beginning. She's a former managing editor of ClickZ and has also worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing. Parker earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.