Google Running Ads Out of Town on the Rail

Can Small Businesses Survive a Higher Competitive Bid Environment?

Google Right Rail adsGoogle is eliminating the right rail ads, which may mean a 4th ad position at the top of the page for desktop users. Google Ads will run at the top and bottom of pages to align desktop and mobile user experiences. This change is happening across all languages around the world.

Here is what Google is reported to have said officially on the right rail ad disappearance:

“We’ve been testing this layout for a long time, so some people might see it on a very small number of commercial queries. We’ll continue to make tweaks, but this is designed for highly commercial queries where the layout is able to provide more relevant results for people searching and better performance for advertisers.”

Of course, Google is constantly changing and tweaking its search algorithms. But why is the search engine making this drastic change to prime digital advertising space? Two reasons. First, right rail real estate was steadily losing clicks for desktop users. Second, right rail ads don’t exist on mobile users’ screens due to space restrictions, and having one unified experience across desktop and mobile devices is preferred.

The more significant of the two reasons is the decline in ad clicks. Google’s profitability depends on users clicking on ads. A decline in ad clicks on desktops means a decline in revenue. Declining profit means its time for a change, so Google is riding ads out of town on the right rail.

David vs. Goliath

For advertisers (Goliaths) that have a top-bid strategy and big bid budgets, not much will change. For smaller businesses (Davids), and especially advertisers that were comfortable with ad positions in the 4-10 space, change will be dramatic. In the short-term, drastic price increases are initially expected. One key factor not being discussed is how automated bidding platforms will react, and what the effect will be on small advertisers.

This has huge implications for search engine optimization. Organic (not paid) listings are shown lower down on the page (due to both paid and unpaid content), creating a real pay-to-play environment for companies where the only way to be seen is with an ad. Organic traffic and PPC strategies are both affected by this.

Vying for the coveted top ad positions becomes even more difficult and expensive. Most of EAG Advertising & Marketing’s small business clients already have a top-two ad position for ads they run. But Google’s latest change may drive an increase in competitive bids. As it plays out, we are anticipating making a few our own changes to our clients’ digital marketing strategies and budgets.

How can small businesses with smaller budgets compete with larger competitors’ budgets?

For starters, don’t go it alone. Outsource your digital marketing efforts to a partner who can help you navigate this new PPC landscape. Running a small business requires a lot of time and effort. Staying on top of Google and PPC changes is another full-time job – which is why we have staff dedicated only to digital advertising strategy.

For now…

  • Make sure that automated bidding is turned off for a few days, or at least make sure that daily budget caps are in a comfort level.
  • Monitor your month-over-month and year-over-year performance data daily – things can change quickly.
  • Most importantly, remember that PPC is just one outlet in an ever-growing sea of digital marketing opportunities. If this outlet gets too expensive or performs poorly, budget re-allocation may be in order.

For small businesses that claw and scratch their way up the search engine rankings organically, this latest Google change may be a triumph. In this new pay-to-play search world, bidding your way to the coveted first page of results for specific keywords could become cost prohibitive.

All the time and effort spent on SEO and brand recognition really is paying off in the long run. The long run is coming for some quicker than expected, which is positive and ironic. Now, more than ever perhaps, small businesses must have a smart Google PPC search strategy in order to outsmart bigger companies with deeper pockets. Let us help you create your winning small business marketing strategy.