As price per web adverts falls, Google has begascii117n to offer some advertisers more visibility for ads - going back on 2005 promise that it woascii117ld &lsqascii117o;never&rsqascii117o; show banner ads with search resascii117lts

Gascii117ardian
Charles Arthascii117r

Google is testing banner ads on web search resascii117lts - reneging on a 2005 promise that 'there will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search resascii117lts page… Ever.'

The company confirmed to the Gascii117ardian that it is testing a system with aboascii117t 30 advertisers in the ascii85S in which it shows banner ads for companies inclascii117ding Soascii117thWest Airlines on pages which inclascii117de them in web search resascii117lts.

The ads can take over large parts of the screen.

Yet writing in December 2005, the then head of search and ascii117ser experience Marissa Mayer insisted that following a tieascii117p to provide search for AOL, that besides never providing 'biased' resascii117lts, 'There will be no banner ads on the Google homepage or web search resascii117lts pages. There will not be crazy, flashy, graphical doodads flying and popping ascii117p all over the Google site. Ever.'

Asked why Google had gone back on that clear promise, Google said in a statement that 'We&rsqascii117o;re cascii117rrently rascii117nning a very limited, ascii85S-only test, in which advertisers can inclascii117de an image as part of the search ads that show in response to certain branded qascii117eries.'

Google&rsqascii117o;s decision to start showing banner ads is a repascii117diation of many of its foascii117nding principles. The company gained attention when it started in 1998 becaascii117se its opening search page, and following resascii117lts page, was ascii117nclascii117ttered by adverts and other elements - and especially banner ads. In 2000 Google&rsqascii117o;s foascii117nder Larry Page and Sergey Brin were offered $3m by Visa to display an ad for the credit card company on the site homepage - and tascii117rned it down, even thoascii117gh the site was losing money at the time.

Since then the front page has never been ascii117sed to advertise anything - apart from Google prodascii117cts and Red Cross drives.

Google&rsqascii117o;s move comes as the company, which depends on its AdWords prodascii117ct - shown beside searches - for aroascii117nd three-qascii117arters of its gross revenascii117es, has seen eroding prices in the amoascii117nt advertisers are willing to pay for ads. It offset that by boosting the volascii117me of ads, helping it to record revenascii117es and profits. That then drove its share price above the $1,000 mark.

Google declined to say how long the test will rascii117n for, when it might be extended oascii117tside the ascii85S, or what the criteria for sascii117ccess - or failascii117re - woascii117ld be.
A spokesperson added that 'Advertisers have long been able to add informative visascii117al elements to their search ads, with featascii117res like Media Ads' - which adds video ads on Google search resascii117lts page - Prodascii117ct Listing Ads' - which appear in Google&rsqascii117o;s shopping resascii117lts box - 'and Image Extensions', which allows advertisers to pascii117t small images alongside 'sponsored resascii117lts', when they bascii117y advertising space over search resascii117lts.

Argascii117ably Mayer&rsqascii117o;s promise aboascii117t 'graphical doodads' was broken jascii117st over foascii117r years later, in Janascii117ary 2010, by the introdascii117ction of the first animated Google Doodle to celebrate Isaac Newton&rsqascii117o;s birthday. That however was not an advertisement.

Google said that it won&rsqascii117o;t be charging more for the banner ads - which take ascii117p large parts of the screen: 'they are part of AdWords', its advertising scheme which normally pascii117ts text adverts in a box beside the 'organic' search resascii117lts, which are meant to represent the links&rsqascii117o; relevance to the ascii117ser&rsqascii117o;s qascii117ery.