Just How Does Google Removing the Ads on the Right-hand Side of Search Results Affect Us?

You may or may not have noticed, but there have been some recent changes with how your search results are shown on Google…but what does this actually mean for businesses and marketers?

The good news is, that to an extent you can control how you let this affect your business depending on how you deal with the change.  If you are a marketer you will already be well adapted to changing with the times and using things like this to your advantage.

Instead of having the most obvious Ad’s on the right-hand side of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and top of the list, there is now up to four at the top of the list, and a further three at the bottom – a maximum of seven, reduced from eleven as there were previously.  The remaining adverts previously shown on the right-hand rail will now be spread across the second results page.

So how does this affect searches?

Well with the new subtle look of the adverts, the number of paid ad’s clicked on will be a much more natural reflection of whether or not people really want what’s being advertised, regardless of whether or not it’s in your face, and, ironically just as easy to ignore and scroll straight past.

It will also help to increase the Click Through Rates (CTR) for these ad’s, which were as little as 6% for the right-hand rail compared to the 94% of the in-stream ads.

So with now only 4 spaces available, naturally there will be higher demand and more competition, meaning the value per spot will increase, dependant of these factors.

The beauty of it however is that this is where you have some control over the matter!  As you know, SEO is affected largely by a number of factors – how many people are searching for your business, whether or not you have any tangible sale items, links and back-links, and – most importantly for this change in the Google SERP – the uniqueness of your business!

So if your business lacks this level of uniqueness, the simple fact is – you’re going to need to pay for the adverts, otherwise the competition out there will simply drain your organic spot out, once combined with your competitors’ paid adverts now holding more spaces on the first two pages.

Luckily it doesn’t matter if you’re a new business starting out, or already a well-established larger organisation.  It’s either going to be early enough for you to re-think your “niche”, or you are going to need the resources (and imagination!) to make your business more unique overall going forward.

There will always be the competition you wouldn’t want to go up against and these are the same businesses who will simply pay more for the advertising as the competition and prices rise, but at this current time it’s too soon to really see how much of a financial impact it’s going to have from that aspect.

This is where us at DP Marketing Communications can’t stress enough the importance of developing your brand and ensuring that your websites content stands out online. We would advise any business (large or small) to ensure that they have professional marketer on board to ensure that your marketing budget is working for you in the best way possible and producing the best ROI for your business.

Luckily, you’re not alone and we are here to help! Our team can advise on the best way to direct your marketing strategy via tried and tested online and offline marketing techniques. Whether it’s a combination of SEO, PPC, Advertising, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, PR or something else (the list is quite extensive) … we understand that every business is different and we are happy to advise on the best marketing tools to use for your brand and industry sector.

DP Marketing Communications is a full service marketing agency created to support local start-ups and small to medium sized businesses.  We started off in Northamptonshire but now have grown significantly, with clients as far as the U.S.!  We provide a marketing agency experience, with a network of experienced senior professionals…without the expensive marketing agency price tag.

We offer a free consultation to all new clients, and would love to talk to you about your business and show you how we can help.  Click here to get in touch today and arrange a free consultation!

Below are a few resources which will help you on your way to getting ahead of the game and ensuring you get the most out of your brand, your marketing, and just some plain simply good advice!  Happy to help!

Internal Resources
25 Amazing Video Marketing Statistics
Why Is Video Marketing So Powerful?
External Resources
Should You Dump Your Brand Equity? (Part 1 of 3 – Anatomy of a Rebrand)