Googles New Ad Formats

"If I'm a user, this is the best possible piece of information for me if I'm interested in finding out about the movie 'Fame,'" Fox said. "Similarly, if I'm a movie studio, this is exactly what I want my audience to see, so it's really a win-win."

Fox also did a search on "tiger woods game" and Google returned a trailer for the video game "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10." Google reaps the reward from these trailers when advertisers pay for a click to their Website or their video.

Product ads are another segment that has changed at Google. Fox did a search on "suitcases." The text ads don't tell users pricing information and pictures. But when Fox clicked on a button for Luggage.com, he was treated to pictures of three models from that company with full descriptions and pricing information.

"We're seeing some positive results of this in early tests, and we're starting to roll this out more broadly," Fox said.

Google is boosting local information search advertising. Fox searched "dentist san francisco" and saw results that included a map plus box showing him where dentists were located on the map, addresses, phone numbers and directions to get to the dentist offices.

In Google Maps, Fox searched on "hotels san francisco" and got a map with balloons plotting the location of hotels in the area. Clicking on those balloons shows information about that particular hotel. Advertising results change as users zoom around the map.

In a research note published after the Webcast, Broadpoint AmTech analyst Benjamin Schachter said Google is trying to get advertisers to spend more money with the company by helping advertisers increase ad effectiveness through new tools and ad formats. "With 80 percent of Google advertisers not maxing out daily budgets, Google is focused on using these new tools and ad formats to close the gap," he wrote.

Google is also making changes to the search user experience. The company yesterday super-sized the font size of its search box and suggestions below the search box, making it easier on Google searchers' eyes. This could eventually lead to better advertising returns because the faster users find what they want on Google, the more they search.