Google is currently testing a display of 14 ads on a single mobile search results page. This trial was noticed by Fibre Marketing, who shared a screen recording on Twitter, showcasing the new setup.
The recording reveals that before reaching the “More results” button, there are 14 ads presented. At the top, there are 4 consecutive ads followed by two organic listings. This is followed by 7 more ads in succession, and then 6 organic listings. Finally, the search results page finishes with 3 more ads before the “More results” button appears, totaling 14 paid results against 8 organic results, nearly doubling the number of ads compared to regular search results.
This substantial number of ads is significant, although not all mobile searches reflect this setup. Google consistently experiments with various ways to display results. It’s possible that this is a test to gauge how many ads users are willing to tolerate. If successful, with ad clicks outweighing negative feedback, we might see more pages like this in the future.
Google’s initiative to test such a high number of ads shows the company’s efforts to monetize search results, which is promising for advertisers but poses challenges for SEO professionals. However, it’s difficult to foresee users accepting this increase in ads without raising significant concerns.
