14 DAY TRIAL // Google is testing a new type of banner ads on its search results page: huge, graphics-rich ads, the type of which Google has never shown on its search engine.
The new ads are an experiment and are only visible in the US, but they do indicate a future where Google is not afraid to add more content to its search pages, even graphical ads.
So far, the company has never gone beyond text ads on its search engine. There are some video ads and sometimes thumbnails, but full banner ads have been out of the question.
As Search Engine Land notes, Google was quite adamant about never allowing ads on the search page.
"There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search results pages. There will not be crazy, flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping up all over the Google site. Ever," Google said back in 2005.
It's important to note that quote came from Marissa Mayer, who was long known to be the driving force behind Google's minimalism.
It's hard not to notice that the Google homepage and the search pages have become a lot more crowded in the years since Mayer stopped leading the search design team.
Currently, the search giant is working with about 30 advertisers on these new huge banner ads. The banner takes up almost the entire width of the screen, but below the image there's also a long list of links to various sections of the site advertised.
The ad unit takes up almost the entire screen; the organic results are pushed to the bottom.
That said, these ads only show up for "branded" queries, for example, a search for "southwest airlines." In this case, it's quite easy to figure out that the users are looking for info about the airline so the ad is useful
The first organic results are actually for the same site, so users are not getting a worse experience because of the ad, while Google gets to make some money out of it.