Google Search has integrated a new green ad label into the paid section of it’s SERP.
The new ad label is a soft pastel green, a close match to the link text proceeding the label. Have a look below.
New Ad Icon
Canada – google.ca
Traditional Ad Icon
United States – google.com
A small change with big implications. Let’s take a closer look at the updated ad label.
Changes
- Colour Shift – The strong gold ad label has been updated to a soft pastel green.
- Minimalist SERP – The change has dropped the total number of colours on the SERP from 4 down to 3.
Why the Change?
The label change softens the paid section of the SERP. The gold ad label created a strong separation between paid and organic search. By shifting to the green ad label, the SERP has a much more uniform look-n-feel. This is a smart play by Google to boost engagement for search ads moving forward.
It’s no secret that organic search engagement greatly outweighs paid search. This is not a new trend, organic search has alyways taken the cake when it comes to clicks on the SERP. Google’s search engine processes around 3.5 billion searches per day. If paid search represents 5% of that 3.5B clicks, that equates to 175 million clicks. Even a 1% increase for paid search would result in an additional 35 million daily clicks.
Thoughts
I think Google’s shift to a green ad label is great for paid search. Here are a few reasons why:
- The traditional gold ad label made the paid search section of Google’s SERP look cheap and gimmicky. The new green ad label gives search ads a much cleaner look.
- The ad label change to green means there is one less colour on Google’s SERP. From a design perspective, this will lower the cognitive load for search users trying to decide which results to click.
- Paid search has a much more native feel. This means that users will begin to click on paid ads as they would an organic result.
What do you think about Google’s new green ad label?
