Google tests advertising banners
Google is testing large banner ads above its search results for the first time in the U.S. Since Wednesday, large photos that link to companies have been appearing above the search engine's results in some cases.
With the large advertising banners, Google is breaking a promise it made eight years ago. "There will be no banner ads on the Google search results page. There will be no crazy, flashing, graphic things on the Google page that fly around and pop up. Never," promised Google manager Marissa Mayer, who is now head of competitor Yahoo. However, anyone searching for the airline Southwest Airlines in the USA on Wednesday, for example, was shown a huge photo of one of the airline's planes, including links to booking, check-in and customer service.
The simplicity of the Google site - in addition to the quality of the search results - had contributed to Google's success. Until now, text-only advertisements have been presented alongside the search results, with paid search results above the list of results. However, the prices for traditional Internet advertising on computers - and therefore Google's earning potential - have fallen recently. The reason for this is the boom in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, for which advertising has to be redesigned.
(SDA)
