Google Green Outlined Ad Label Rolled Out Globally

Google has yet again rolled out another variation of their Ad Label across all Devices. This time, Google has decided on the Green Outlined Ad Label. Various testing was reported around the 24th January 2017 in the UK, and Google now looks to have decided on it’s latest colour scheme and rolled it out globally.
What does this mean? What can you do? We explore all of the hubbub and give you actionable insight to take away with you. Enjoy 🙂
The hubbub
What’s happening?
It was in June 2016 where they changed the colour from Gold to Green (see our last post about this), and in less than a year Google have changed the colour of their Ad Label yet again to a Green Outline.
Search Engine Land has kindly put together a history of Google’s Ad Shading and Labelling below…

Credit: Search Engine Land, 2017
Why have Google changed the ad label?
According to Search Engine Roundtable, Google stated the below at the end of Feb…
We routinely test potential improvements to the look and feel of our search results page. After experimenting with a new search ad label with a green outline, we’ve decided to roll it out. The new ad label is more legible and continues to make our results page easier to read for our users with clear indication of our ad labeling.
When this was first announced, people were pretty quick to jump to conclusions; it’s Google tricking people into clicking on more paid search ads, it’s Google screwing with the “little guys” again, Google are running out of ideas etc.
Some of this may be true. But let’s face it, Google are always going to be testing and tweeking their ad formats to help drive value for it’s users, which will in turn benefit it’s advertisers and therefore itself. Simple.
What does this mean for you?
Déjà Vu; a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.
When this happened last year, we broke down everything you need to know here.
Keep calm, don’t make irrational decisions;Â Make data driven decisions
Let’s not jump into any conclusions until we get enough data to determine what impact this may have on our performance. For example…
- Are you seeing costs rise? Let the data tell you where you need to look at improving your Quality Scores to help decrease your Cost Per Click.
- Is your CTR decreasing? Is this just simply because more users are clicking on your ads now? Or are there some negative keywords that you need to add in through Search Query Reports?
- Are you seeing performance through a particular device decreasing (CTR, Conversion Rate etc.)? Are you utilising device bid adjustments correctly to help you drive the best performance?
If you let the data make the decisions, you’ll be making smarter decisions to benefit everyone.
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