Discovery Ads and Gallery Ads are here and introduce banner ads to the Google homepage and web search results. Google had earlier denied early speculations on this 14 years back.
One wonders why big corporations are funding of lying and keeping you into a comfortable place, then later eat up their words and screwing you over. That is exactly what Google just did with the announcement of Discovery Ads and Gallery Ads.
Some of the consequences of these new ad formats is that users will begin to see banner ads on the Google homepage and in web search results. The very thing they said would never happen.
This screenshot is from a 2005 article on the official Google blog:
Google Lied To Its Users
Everyone who has invested in SEO for their websites is going to be screwed by this. Before a search happens, an advertiser can take away your potential reader or buyer, thanks to banner ads on the homepage. And even after a search happens, there is another pile of banner ads that can potentially take your prospects away.
In plain English: every site that depends on search will take a hit. There is just no way around it. Search traffic to sites will get diluted.
I have always said that it is a bad idea to build your platform to depend heavily on a 3rd party service, simply because at some point in time you will get screwed over.
We were here when Facebook screwed publishers over. Every publisher that had built their service to depend on Facebook took a heavy hit.
And now, Google is doing the screwing. Not that this is their first time of doing so. This is just a glaring, in-your-face occurrence.
Like Yahoo Search, Google Search
Do you remember what the Yahoo Search homepage and experience was like? Cluttered. Cluttered with banners and add and everything else.
Google introduced a lean and clean search homepage that had nothing but a search form. It was beautiful. It was user-friendly. It is also have everyone an even playing field – a clean opportunity to get your content found.
With yesterday’s announcement of Discovery and Gallery ads, this is about to change. Google Search is following in the footsteps of Yahoo Search .
Google is implementing things it has criticized and penalised others for Banners above the fold, anyone?
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All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. Might is right. That is what it boils down to in the end.
I hope we are all getting the message: do not trust the big corporations. It is always about the money and you will get screwed if you happen to be in the way of them getting more of that.
And if you do become a big corporation yourself, play the “do no evil†card for as long as it is convenient, then screw over everyone who took you at your word.
You can read the 2005 article by Google HERE.
