This week we learned about a new ad unit coming to YouTube which will actually be unskippable. A new study came out showing the potential of ranking in the 4th position in Google AdWords. Google’s new CEO penned his first ever letter to shareholders since taking on his position. What does the future hold for Google, according to its CEO? Full details about each of these headlines in this week’s search engine news roundup.
Bumper Ads Coming to YouTube
A new ad unit for YouTube is in the works, which will be a short, unskippable video that will play just before other videos watched on a mobile device. Like most Google ad units, the new Bumper ad will be sold through the AdWords auction on a CPM basis. Google is targeting a very specific demographic with these ad units, stating in its announcement that many 18 to 49-year-olds turn to their mobile device first to watch video, and that’s why these ad units are specifically for mobile devices.
Bumper ads will likely roll out this coming May, and will be so short that they can’t be skipped. At six seconds in length it’s not very different from how YouTube’s current video advertising works. By comparison, a regular video will become skippable after five seconds viewing. Bumper ads are just asking for one second more of your time. Regular pre roll ads will still be mixed in with Bumper ads, so you may begin to see ads of all types and lengths once the new ad unit rolls out. Bumper ads are currently being tested by Audi Germany and Atlantic Records, so you may see some of these ad units in the wild before they are made available to everyone.
4th Position = Better CTRs, Study Says
A new Google AdWords study by Adobe Media Optimizer came out this week, with findings that suggest showing up in the fourth place may actually be as beneficial as showing up in the first place. The study was done to measure the impact of costs per click since Google removed the right-hand side bar ads several months ago. According to the study, smaller advertisers are impacted more than larger advertisers because the smaller ones tend to rely more on low-volume keywords. With Google’s recent change, advertisers now have to pay more to reach the same position for low-volume keywords.
The study found that CPC’s dropped for the third and fourth position, and rose for the first and second positions. However, the study also shows that it’s the lower positions that produce the better click through rates. So advertisers bidding for the lower positions may actually end up spending less for more clicks. Of course, these results may not be typical, but they also might go to show that showing up in the lower positions in AdWords may not necessarily be the worst thing.
Google CEO Bets Big on Machine Learning
This week was a big week for Google in a historical sense because it was the first time anyone besides Larry page and/or Sergey Brin penned a CEOs letter to shareholders. The founders of Google have since gone on to lead the parent company Alphabet, promoting Sundar Pichai to the position of CEO of Google. In his letter this week he made bold predictions for the future of the company, betting heavily on machine learning. In the future Google wants to be able to deliver the information you want without you even having to ask for it. Think Google Now on Android but in a much larger sense.
“There is still much work to be done to make Search and our Google services more helpful to you throughout your day. You should be able to move seamlessly across Google services in a natural way, and get assistance that understands your context, situation, and needs—all while respecting your privacy and protecting your data.”
Pam Aungst
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