5 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
5 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

PPC vs SEO: Google killing off right hand side ads, what do you think?

by InFrontDigital
5 replies
  • PPC/SEM
    • |
Hi guys,

Just a quick question for you all as I haven't seen much discussion on the topic. What do you think about Google killing off the right hand side ads? I'm in two minds about it. Whilst it's good for PPC campaigns that now you can aim to be positioned at position 4 or higher, it's not great for SEO as it's pushing organic listings further below the fold, especially if a maps listing is appearing aswell!

What are your thoughts?
#ads #adwords #google #hand #killing #organic #ppc #ranking #seo #side
  • Profile picture of the author taguinod
    Pros and Cons!

    From what I've been reading and experienceing, average CPC has gone up a little, but click through rates have gone up as well. Also, this just goes to show Google tailoring the user experience to mobile.

    Also I don't think its necessarily only detrimental to SEO because with less positions available for paid advertising it gives more incentive to invest in SEO.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10712325].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author George Schwab
    I rather be No. 1 - than No. 5

    we need to realize the CTR goes down in percentage from the top to the bottom,
    once upon a time before the ads been on top the first spot got almost 40% CTR
    while NO. 10 got under 10%.

    Now apply this to the new situation, there is a huge difference between position 1 and 5.
    That means there is a huge difference between Adwords and SEO.

    Google are such clever *******s they for sure planned it like that from the beginning.

    Before: Search Engine

    Now: Ad Engine

    So PPC keywords are more important than ever, have to find the sweet spot => affordable + best conversion

    P.S. For my search I do not use G anymore. I need to do true research, have no time to browse ads.
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10712387].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author LucidWebMarketing
    There's always pros and cons to everything.


    Seemingly, there's a con for advertisers in that there is now only up to 7 ads showing on the page where there used to be 11. This may in fact be a pro. I don't see where those four extra ads on the right side got much traffic and they probably converted less. So the pro is that more advertisers should be happier with Adwords as there should be more clicks and more conversions. Happier advertisers use the platform longer so that's a pro for Google.


    Con for SEO in that organics are being pushed down one spot. But that's not always the case. There isn't always exactly four ads above them. In fact, I seem to see more results where there's less, often times just one. I think this is more the fact that Google shows ads with more commercial intent at the top and the rest at the bottom. In other words, many advertisers are doing a poor job. A pro for those who are better at it. So for me, no pro nor con for SEO.


    I don't think there's a con for SEO to tell you the truth. If someone doesn't want to click on ads, they are not going to. The fact that there may be four ads at the top should not deter those who despise the ads.


    In a post I started when this happened, I did not believe CPCs would go up for advertisers. And they haven't, at least not for me but it's kind of hard to gauge given my constant testing. It may be a coincidence but CTRs are up but could be because of my testing.


    Note that Bing also started to not show ads anymore on the right side. That should say that it's in their best interest to do so. In other words, it's a big pro for them. I think overall, it's a pro for eveybody.
    Signature
    Profitable PPC Campaigns Don't Happen By Accident
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10712622].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author taguinod
    This is a great article analyzing the effects of ridding the ads on the RHS

    How advertisers should respond to fewer ads showing on Google
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10712652].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author CpvTrafficPro
    It has been a blessing!

    Google actually lowers the CPC for campaigns that use extensions and now since there are no right hand ads, we actually get 1 more spot (#4) that are capable of using extensions. Since the change (while not much) my avg CPC has gone down by $0.15
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10712718].message }}

Trending Topics