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Google Ads Pitch Making Google Your Homepage

Danny Sullivan on November 26, 2012 at 12:52 pm

It can seem odd that people search for “Google” on Google, but they do. And for those who do within Google News, the company has been running ads encouraging them to make Google their homepage.

I noticed this happening in the middle of last month, and you can still see it happening today:

The ad says, “Make Google Your Homepage” with the message “Access Google Conveniently By Setting It As Your Browser Homepage,” as you can see in close-up below:

I’ve seen at least one other variation, pitching “Google At Your Fingertips,” as shown below:

Clicking on the ads takes you to a special page pitching Google as a homepage option:

Using the “Get Started” button there unveils the instructions for making your browser open by default to the Google home page. The instructions were specific to Chrome or Safari, when I went to the page in each of those browsers.

Google’s run house ads promoting its various services for years, but this particular campaign — which runs only in Google News — felt new to me, especially that landing page. I did ask Google when it began and if the page was new, but the company never provided a follow-up answer.

About The Author

Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.