BIG CHANGE IN GOOGLE ADWORDS AND HOW IT MIGHT AFFECT YOUR AFFILIATE BUSINESS

Tuesday, 22 March 2016

BIG CHANGE IN GOOGLE ADWORDS AND HOW IT MIGHT AFFECT YOUR AFFILIATE BUSINESS

If like many other affiliate marketers, you are also using Google AdWords – it is very important to be aware of the latest changes Google made in the way adverts are displayed in their search results.

Last month, starting from February 22, Google started making changes in the layout of text adverts displayed in the right sidebar of search results. These seemingly small changes significantly affect all publishers including affiliate marketers. This is the reason we have decided to bring you the story of the changes Google made and the way it might affect your usual business workflow.

THE CHANGES

As you surely remember, Google used the right sidebar of their search results to display text advertisements and sponsored search results. While the company insisted the ads were separated and did not mix with search results – they actually proved to be pretty effective, generating a fair amount of clicks despite their “separated” position.

About a month ago, in a relatively surprising turn of events, Google decided to end its probably longest experiment by starting to eliminate the ads on the right-hand side. Instead, they decided to display three text ads above the organic listings and four below it. Of course, there will be certain exceptions, like the one where “highly commercial” search queries get a slightly larger number of ads than the less popular ones.

THE IMPLICATIONS FOR AFFILIATE MARKETERS

These changes will mostly affect publishers and advertisers who pay good money for well positioned Google advertising. One of the most important factors is of course – money. With the reduction in the number of ads, the price is expected to rise making the space on their site even more valuable. There still hasn’t been enough time to collect sufficient data to know how exactly is it going at the moment, but most people expect at least a slight rise in the ad prices.

Sadly, the advertisers are not the only ones affected. With these changes in a number of ads displayed above the organic search results, the affiliate marketers have a steeper hill to climb in their fight for users’ attention. If you are a small player in a competitive market who cannot afford to pay Google a sponsored position on the top or bottom of their new ads layout – you will need to start paying extra attention to your SEO optimization.

So, it is time to improve your keywording skills, keep an eye on your competition and always try to invest more than your competitors. It is only this way you will be able to end up higher in the search results related to your niche.