Google constantly updates the layout of its features in the Search Engine Ranking Page’s (SERP’s). Our job is to monitor how our websites are ranking on Google and make adjustments to ensure the website continues to have the same level of exposure.
At the end of the summer, Google began showing three text ads above the organic results for searches on phones where there used to be only two. You can see in the example’s below the search for ‘roofing shingles’ shows 3 adverts and ‘best makeup’ search shows the two listings.
We’ve always been aware that mobile advertising has more crowded space than SERP’s on a PC or even a tablet device. And, as standard, we have always set a bid adjustment for our accounts depending on the competition. This means that we allocate an increased percentage of budget when someone is searching for keywords on a mobile device, thus making it more competitive in the crowded arena. Ideally the advert MUST be coming up either 1st or 2nd on a mobile device to contribute effectively towards a succesful campaign.
What has been interesting is to see the effect of these bid adjustments over the last few months following the arrival of the three adverts being shown. It would be logical to think that the click-through-rate (CTR) of our high placing adverts would decrease due to the arrival of a third advert listing. However, a review of our accounts over the last month echos the results of Search Engine Land.
The results show an increase in Text Ad impressions, something you would wholly expect..
But the CTR per device shows that far from decreasing due to the increased competition, the overall Mobile CTR for Text Ads is increasing. The insight from Search Engine Land attributes these results as a change in user behaviour. It’s possible that by adding a third text ad and pushing organic links even farther down the page, Google has broken the will of users who would have clicked on an organic link if they could find one at the top of the page but are instead just clicking ads because they don’t want to scroll down.
This would mean the addition of the third text ad may have pretty seriously impacted searcher behavior on phones, resulting in more ad clicks.
From our PPC accounts for dental practices, we can see this trend, with examples showing a 50% increase in CTR for adverts shown on a mobile device, as opposed to PC or tablet.
We are watching the mobile advertising space closely. certainly it is evident, that a mobile strategy to your online PPC campaign is a must if wanting to engage with potential patients who are more willing to now click on adverts on their device.