February 15th, 2008
Video ads now on Google result pages
It sounds like Google’s starting to get into the display ad game with the news that videos will start showing up alongside natural search results on Google. The question some people are asking is if these new ad units will be accepted by users.
[image from Search Engine Land]
As long as the change is subtle, showing videos only where it makes sense, I don’t see why it wouldn’t. The reason people don’t mind Google ads is because they are relevant — not necessarily because they aren’t intrusive. Average users (the same people who actually do click on normal Google ads) don’t care what type of ad they are seeing as long as it’s what they searched for — heck, most of the time they don’t even know they are ads.
The big question is whether folks will stand for these little experiments. Unless Google goes super garish I doubt people–beyond a few outspoken bloggers–will really care much after the initial shock. — Larry Dignan
It’s not uncommon to hear normal people ask “There are ads?” when you try and explain how AdWords works — that is why I think Google’s advertising business has been so successful.
This new ad format is apparently already live — but nobody yet has caught a glimpse them in the wild yet. If you happen to run across any, let me know!
Garett Rogers is employed as a programmer for iQmetrix, which specializes in retail management software for the wireless industry.
See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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