In the endless battle for advertising dollars in search, Google has been rolling out new products that encourage more engagement with paid links over organic results.
The most recent is Google Ad Image Extensions, a subcomponent of Google Ad Extensions. The new functionality allows advertisers to attached additional information beyond text to ads: a map of a business location, for example.
Destinations, tours, hotel properties and OTAs could also very well take advantage of this new ad unit to visually showcase the promoted experience with the Image Extension:
The increase in real estate to the top listing - which is the only paid link that benefits from Image Ad Extensions - means that brands will be competing even more for prime real estate than they already are. PPC rates will likely climb as businesses battle for the winning bid that places their linked images in the top spot.
However, the ad unit will get more clicks with the engaging visuals, and likely convert better if the images are more targeted to the specific search.
So the increase in CTR, which increases the price of the ad unit, will actually increase prices across the board. Even those not participating in a bidding war for the top slot may see rising prices across the board.
Organic placements will also suffer, as they are pushed down the page with more real estate devoted to the top spot. With the majority of clicks already going to paid placements, organic SEO is taking another hit. The march towards pay-as-the-only-way-to-play continues.
The Ad Extensions are part of a new interface that aims to surface relevant travel/destination content within search results by adding a visual element to the browsing experience. This is quite an evolution, as the product is a clear departure from the relative simplicity of the classic Google interface.
Google explains the latest iteration of the AdWords product with the tagline "making a good thing even better."
NB: Thanks to Tnooz reader Philipp Kloeckner for the tip.