For Google, AdWords represents the foundational advertising model, not to mention the primary mode of income. Billions are spent each year on advertising through Google, and with a projected eight to one return for every dollar spent, there are good reasons. That high yield wasn’t automatic for Google, however. Rather, it’s the result of lengthy testing, numerous experiments, finely tuned guidelines and resources, and years of earned trust with searchers. Google is now in the process of testing additional formatting for “select advertisements,” this time displaying the domain name in the ad title.
This means that, for the selected ads, users will see a brief extension that mentions the actual URL of the site (e.g., “Advertisement Headline Here | domain.com”). The URL will appear after a vertical bar and will drop the http://www. Google has also taken precautions to ensure that the domain name only appears when appropriate. If, for example, you already mention your domain name in the headline, Google won’t repeat it.
This new experiment is also being combined with a previous one: description line promotion. In this previous Google experiment, select advertisements had a line of their description bumped into the headline slot, assuming that the description was within a certain character limit. If the domain name can also be included while sticking to that limit, Google may display a headline that includes both the description headline and your URL.
Google’s reasoning is that this will help users easily spot recognizable sites and that, over time, the high visibility for your site’s name will increase your branding – even if users don’t click on your ad. What are your thoughts? Love it, hate it, or couldn’t care less?
[via the Google AdWords Blog]
