Google Redesigns Search Ads, Making Them More Prominent and Slightly More Avoidable Google is implementing a significant change to how advertisements appear within its search results. The update groups all text-based ads into a dedicated Sponsored results section, which will be prominently placed at the top of the search page. The company states that the new design is intended to help users navigate the top of the page more easily. The physical size of the individual ads remains the same, and Google has confirmed that there will never be more than four ads within a single grouping. A key new feature is the ability to hide these sponsored sections. Once a user scrolls past the initial block of ads, they can click a button to collapse the entire Sponsored results section, removing it from view. This provides a clearer path to organic search results. This change arrives as user behavior may already be shifting. Many people have become accustomed to scrolling past the new AI Overviews that Google recently introduced at the top of many search queries. Google itself noted in its announcement that the new Sponsored tab could appear either above or below these AI-generated summaries, potentially adding another element for users to navigate past before finding non-paid information. However, the new ad containers are not limited to the top of the page. Google will also place a Sponsored results section at the very bottom of the search results page. This bottom section also features a hide button, but it only becomes available after the user has scrolled down and viewed the ads, ensuring some level of ad exposure. This redesigned approach to search advertising is currently in the process of rolling out to users globally across both mobile and desktop platforms. The move represents Google’s latest effort to balance the prominence of its lucrative ads with user experience, making paid results both more distinct and, in some cases, easier to dismiss.
