Google announced Friday, October 14, that it would be updating how it displays search results on mobile devices. All sponsored results will now prominently display the word "sponsored," replacing the smaller "ad" label. The domain name will no longer be displayed next to the URL of the site but rather above it on a separate line.
To make them more readable, favicons or the graphic image also have their size and form modified.
Google has begun rolling out its new search results style on mobile devices and will soon be tested on desktop versions.
Detailed Changes on the Mobile Search Results
The tech giant said in a blog post that the new 'sponsored' label would be prominent and unambiguous across different types of paid content to guarantee that ads are effectively tagged.
Displaying site names and favicons higher in search results is meant to facilitate a quicker ability to identify the website linked with each result. Before this update, URLs would appear in search results, making it difficult to determine which sites were being referenced.
"This new label and its prominent position continues to meet our high standards for being distinguishable from search results and builds on our existing efforts to make information about paid content clear," said Google in the statement.
Similar modifications will also be applied to advertisements as part of the company's stated commitment to user transparency.
Read Also : Google Adds More Visual Search Results Through its Newest 'Neighborhood Vibe' and 'Immersive View' Features
The Timeline of Visual Changes in Google Ad Labeling
TechCrunch published a report that included visuals charting the evolution of Google's ad labeling several times.
Google Ads product liaison Ginny Marvin posted the timetable in 2019. Though it is an old tweet, it somehow states the obvious changes. In the photo, look at how Google has gradually blurred the borders between advertisements and search results.
We've updated our visual history of Google ad labeling in Search to include the new black marker on mobile https://t.co/IRj6CsrOAJ pic.twitter.com/dC77XdeiGU
— Ginny Marvin (@GinnyMarvin) June 4, 2019
It was noted that the new, more prominent 'ad' label that Google introduced in 2020 still required users to squint in order to distinguish paid content from unpaid material. Therefore, it reverted to the previous design. However, the company took two years to implement any change.
The Importance of Ads to Google
For Google, advertising is the primary source of revenue, amounting to $56.3 billion in the second quarter of 2022, TechCrunch reported.
Thus, the search giant must have many streams of revenue. Given Google's dominance in the advertising sector, regulators and competitors alike have expressed interest in examining the company's advertising operations via an antitrust lens.
Previous Google Search Updates
A month ago, the company made another significant update to its search engine. The revamp is now providing users with' Neighborhood Vibe' and 'Immersive View' features.
These reveal previously hidden information about certain locations, enriching the user's understanding of such areas through enhanced imagery.
The change is reportedly a part of Google's larger redesign attempt to provide more than just text and photos to users. The idea is to prevent people from leaving the search results pages too quickly by clicking on something else.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
