Big move by Google Adwords will change face of the Internet

Big move by Google Adwords will change face of the Internet this October

An Internet change by Google in October will see their text Ads (shown around search results) expanded by nearly 50 per cent – a move that may make it more difficult for the public to tell advertising apart from organic listings, and which has huge implications for New Zealand SMEs.

CEO of Auckland-based search engine optimisation company and Google Adwords Premier Partner Ark Advance, Chris Price, said that the change would most likely result in an increase in the costs of Google advertising, and potentially reduce the value of organic search results.

"Google has already moved its text Adwords off the side of the search results page, whilst also including an additional advertising slot for some search results, sparking more competition for listings at the top and bottom of the page. As a result, organic listings are further down the page, so that people often have to scroll down to the organic listings below the so-called fold.

"It's hard to say what exactly the implications will be from Expanded Text Ads, but I think less space and less prominence for organic results. More companies will have to consider Adwords if they want to be found online, and they will have to pay more to compete.

"I expect that companies will need to get their Adwords best practise spot on to be competitive," he said of the move, which is billed as the search engine giant's biggest change in 15 years.

Mr Price said Expanded Text Ads are optimised for mobile, which is increasingly driving search volume across the network.

"So instead of 25 characters for a heading and two 35 characters of description, you now have two 30-character headlines and one sizable 80-character description – organic listings may start to look dinky and less appealing by comparison.

"This is a significant change to the Internet. New Zealand companies that rely on Google traffic for sales need to make sure they understand what is happening and how they will respond to the introduction of Expanded Text Ads."

Mr Price said that bigger was not always better when it comes to the upsized ad format because the quality of the copywriting message is most important.

He offers the following tips for companies that want to improve their conversion from Google Adwords:

1. Update your Google Adwords account to use this new ad format – text ads in the old form may look skinny and less appealing when compared to your competitors’ expanded alternatives.
2. Use the extra space to differentiate your business with a compelling message that will get people to click.
3. Remember that people go to Google looking to solve a problem. Credibility is high on the list, so use this extra space to mention your years of experience or the scope of the problems you have solved before.
4. Closely monitor the results of your Google advertising whilst this change rolls out. Now is not the time to “set and forget”. Jump on those campaigns that are failing fast and likewise capitalise on the winners that have caught your competitors napping.

"New Zealand SMEs that rely on organic listings to generate sales leads may see a drop in traffic as organic becomes less prominent within the search results. Those that rely on Google Adwords may need to ensure that they have a strong sales message because competition will increase and clicks may come at a higher cost and become harder to find," Mr Price said.

About Ark Advance:

Ark. Advance was founded in Auckland in 2002 and is a Google AdWords Premier Partner. The company specialises delivering cost effective online marketing solutions for NZ SME businesses.

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