Robert_Charlton - 4:18 am on Jan 24, 2012 (gmt 0)

It would have been nice to have a heads-up before the change!

This has not exactly been secret....

More guidance on building high-quality sites
Official Google Webmaster Blog
Friday, May 06, 2011
[googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com...]

Amit Singhal wrote...

...if you want to step into Google's mindset, the questions below provide some guidance on how we've been looking at the issue:... ...- Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?

Quality According to Google - Official "Guidance" on Panda Update
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4308892.htm [webmasterworld.com]

brinked posted on May 07...

First of all, that is a great blog post by google and very very helpful if you know how to read between the lines. I recommend everyone read it at least 5 times.... - Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content? Here is the point I have been pushing big time on here. I think I was one of the first to push this idea in the "sites that dont fit the mold" thread. If you have too many ads on your site it is taking away from your users experience. Do not use deceptive ads or ads that overwhelm your users.

Pubcon info: Content/Ads position is becoming a ranking factor
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4385605.htm [webmasterworld.com]

And many other such comments along the way.