Google is testing a new advertising layout on search results pages in which ads are removed if a user consistently chooses not to interact with any of the ad elements on the page.
According to posters in the WebmasterWorld forum, Google is removing the top blue ad from search result pages and only showing ads on the right side of the screen. The blue ad is removed if a user consistently does not click on ads. The blue ad is restored if the user clears his or her cache.
One poster writes:
“I spoke to my account rep. They are testing a new feature whereby when a user performs multiple searches and does not click an ad, the ads are all moved to the right side of the page. The rationale is that the user does not want to see the ads anyway and it lessens the chance of a poor prospect clicking on an ad. If you clear your cookies, the results will go back to normal.“
Google’s ad serving technology has long been lauded for its customer-driven approach. When Google serves an ad on a page, it doesn’t always place the ad with the most expensive bidding price at the top of the ad column. Instead, Google evaluates several external factors, such as search term relevance and customer behavior, in placing ads.