The adCenter blog announced that they have released a new ad ranking formula with the release of their new index and organic algorithms from last week.

Microsoft has changed their formula for determining which ads are able to to achieve a top ad placement, i.e. the ad above the organic listing, or, as Microsoft calls it, the “mainline” ad. In the past, the criteria for an ad to reach that top location was “more rigid,” but now the formula is “more dynamic.” This enables all advertisers the ability to achieve that top ad slot.

Microsoft details possible methods of getting your ad in the top position:

• You could see your ads move in or out of the mainline depending on your CTR and set Max Bid
• You may need to bid more to maintain mainline positions
• You may see ads move up into the mainline without bidding more
• For ads remaining in the mainline, your actual CPC may increase

Recently, Google made a similar change, which we covered with Want That Top Ad Position On Google? The Rules Are About To Change.

Related Topics: Microsoft: adCenter

About The Author: Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here. For more background information on Barry, see his full bio over here. See more articles by Barry Schwartz