Although it is often forgotten by some: Google is a massive company and has the number one thing in mind: generate revenue. A big source of income, of course, are the ads that are shown in the SERPs. There were only 2 or 3 ads when Google started with adwords and the ads had a slightly different style than the organic results. Now, there are a lot more ads which have a similar style. The number of ads in the search results are increasing and they are often more prominent than the organic references. This is also true in mobile search – but so far the relationship is still in order.
As it has now become known, Google currently seems to be testing how many ads can be placed on a page with search results. While there were two or three ads in the mobile view so far, some of the search terms now show up to 14 ads. This has been revealed by analysts of Fiber Marketing. Even if it was a rather unusual and specific search, that is a frightening prospect of what we might all soon face. Because such a test also shows quite clearly that Google simply looks at how far they can go until the users are upset and complain about the amount of advertising.
At the moment it’s really a test, but more ads in the search results are sure to be expected for some keywords in the near future. That makes the optimization for these terms almost superfluous, because between so much advertising a “normal” result is hardly noticeable. In addition to the users of the search engine, site operators could get angry quite soon. From how many ads that happens, will show. Just as it will then show how Google behaves and how important to them the additional revenue is.
It is to be expected that the users will quickly get used to the “new” weighty results and as long as their inquiries are handled with them, certainly not many complaints are to be expected. So Google will lose little of its market power here. The losers are then more the website operators who rely on SEO and take no money for booking Ads in hand. This shows once again that it is important not to make traffic dependent solely on a measure. Otherwise, sales can sink quickly.
