As Google prepares to report on earnings this week, the
New York Times takes a look at the role of search advertising for advertisers and Google. Search advertising, it opines, remains
critical and that the ad space adjacent to consumer search results is extremely valuable. Further, since Google launched search 20 years ago, it has "allocated more space to ads and created new forms
of them. The ad creep on Google has pushed 'organic' (unpaid) search results farther down the screen, an effect even more pronounced on the smaller displays of smartphones. The changes are profound
for retailers and brands that rely on leads from Google searches to drive online sales. With limited space available near the top of search results, not advertising on search terms associated with
your brand or displaying images of your products is tantamount to telling potential customers to spend their money elsewhere," the
Times reports. Product listing ads are popular with
retailers.
Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »
