I don't think they stand out nearly as well as they used to, but it does mean the there could be more ads on the side bar than there used to be.
Not so sure I like this change. But they still do display adwords on top of the serps in the colored bar.
[edited by: Brett_Tabke at 4:40 pm (utc) on Mar. 29, 2004]
Thanks for sharing your data. I hope you'll come by and update that when you have more data over time.
I will. so far it is the same.
We get quite a bit of traffic, and I was investigating the stats on Monday trying to figure out why the avg PV's had dropped so precipitiously when I then found out about the G interface change.
I'll give is some time, but my gut also tells me the ads are not as clearly delineated as ads.
It's now up to us to write better, more relevant ads. I never try to lead any user into a click. It's not worth it for me, or them. I tell them all I can in each ad without "enticing" them to click.
I notice that a lot of advertisers make very bold statements in their ads and then when I visit the site I'm almost let down, and this is obviously killing their ROI.
My favorite quote: "Keep it Simple Stupid." Which is just what I do with my ads.
Users are much more inclined to look when they dont feel like they are being fed advertising.
Could not disagree more. Good customers and not duped customers.
I want them to be absoultely sure that it is advertising.
Eventually after seeing these ads over and over again users will naturally and subconciously ignore them. Now, this doesnt mean that everyone will ignore them. Some people do actually find the advertisements relevant.
Simply put, people become acustomed to advertising and eventually will ignore it. Personally, I liked the old look better, but this might bring those eyes back that became so used to ignoring our little green and blue boxes.
Do I think this will increase clicks? Yes! For someone like me who pays 6 cents a click, but brings in about 100 visitors a day from adwords this is a good thing. I can see how it may be troublesome for others. We all have different needs, and this happens to benefit me more.
It's just up to us to make sure the user knows what they're getting in the ad.
Clearly nyet doesn't have an impulse purchase. It is probably B2B and he's only interested in customers that are looking for advertisements because they know they are dealing with real companies (rather than random websites).
Nyet, you may want to consider putting a price tag on your advertisements.
For impulse purchases, the new format actually might be an improvement. If you have a low enough price on your product than a wandering eye that sees something for 10$ might not have a problem with simply typing in their credit card number.
I've just read this thread from beginning to end and I think we'll just have to see how things pan out.
From my stats so far the only thing that I can see is a substantial 10-20 percent jump in traffic, who knows whether it will be good or bad. I suspect it probably depends a lot on the product.
So as a temporary and precautionary measure I've already decided to drop my bid prices bye 10-20 percent.
This is my reasoning.......
1. If the traffic is the same quality as before the change, I'll still end up with the same amount of traffic because of the increased click through rate, but that traffic will now be at a lower cost, and because of the lower cost my ROI will increase.
2. If the traffic is better quality, once again I'll still get the same amount of clicks as before, but now at a lower price and also with better conversions as well, even better.
3. If the traffic is not as good a quality as before, I'm still getting the same number of clicks, but I've reduced my cost per click to compensate for the lower quality and I'm now line ball.
Hope that all makes sense.
Chernelle
PS. Having said all this I just hope Google hasn't forgotten the old adage... Short term gain long term pain, etc.
Could not disagree more. Good customers and not duped customers.I want them to be absoultely sure that it is advertising.
Amen!
Too bad very few people GET IT.
If google does not fix this quick, Im seriously going
to take another look at Overture.
This new problem may mean we shift more over to OV.
I guess it is alright. Probably healthier to be spending on 2 major PPC programs equally. Competition is good.
I think all the squeezing on the advertisers that G is doing in advance of the IPO will increase their profits in the short term, but I wonder what it means for them in the long term.
I can't imagine we are alone in shifting more and more resources over to overture.
Google market share is a commanding 41% BUT Overture is on MSN & Yahoo - recent stats from WebSiteStory put MSN at about 19% market share, and Yahoo at 27%, for a total of 46%...
We do notice a sllight increase in conversion rate (page landings). This could be a seasonal thing?
