Google is changing things up and you are about to see big changes with Google Adwords Pay Per Click (PPC). It looks like you can say goodbye right column PPC ads as it appears they are becoming a thing of the past. This change has not been fully implemented yet and Moz reports only seeing about 20% of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) being affected at this time.

How Will PPC Ads be Displayed Now? 

There are now four paid ads displayed at the top of the page (Google previously displayed 1-3 ads). You will still find three more paid ads at the bottom of the page, but the right-hand column will be no more. 

Why the Change?

Well… Google is Google and they get to make the rules.  But, we can speculate that as Google moves more and more toward everything mobile friendly changes will happen. This move may be part of that playbook. According to an article in Moz, “since mobile doesn’t support the right column, Google may be trying to standardize the advertising ecosystem across devices.”

What does this mean for you?

We have always known that the highest performing ads are located in the top three spaces anyway, so nothing is changing there. That has always been where we want clients to be and that remains unchanged. What is a little more unknown is how this move is going to affect PPC advertising budgets.  By completely doing away with the right-hand column there is obviously more limited space. When space is at a premium the question is will this make bidding more competitive? Will it drive up the cost per click (CPC)? 

There is speculation that this move benefits big budgets and could potentially increase PPC costs causing companies to fight for their space. We are carefully watching and analyzing trends and the repercussions from this move and anticipate more information as the change becomes more widespread in the weeks and months ahead.