Recent reports now show that Google is testing promoted video ads in their search results, a format that could bring in more brand dollars to marketing there.
The search video ads are in a limited test phase right now and have come up in discussions between Google and the ad industry, according to sources. The video ads would be the next step in Google’s evolution of search advertising, which started as simple links but has evolved into including the photos, news, and other media formats that we are all so accustomed to seeing.
A digital marketing exec stated “What used to be narrowly defined as search is being turned on its head. Google is finally getting away from just having three lines of text. Video ads have taken over mobile, Facebook and YouTube, and Google is thinking about how to integrate them into search.”
The leading search company isn’t alone in its interest in promoted videos in results. Yahoo is developing its own version of video ad placement in search results, and Bing sells “Rich Ads.”
“Rich Ads are truly effective because they allow advertisers to engage better with potential customers on the search engine results page, provide enriching video content allowing them to extend their brand or campaign assets and offers a higher conversion rate,” John Cosley, marketing director in the Search Advertising Group at Microsoft, said in an emailed statement.
Google would has not commented on any current plans to introduce search video ads, but the company said it has played with the format in the past. “We’ve experimented with a number of different video search formats over the years but don’t have anything specific that we’re launching right now,” the company said.
For some time, Google has floated the idea of video thumbnails in some sponsored results and other variations; however, digital video advertising is a much more mature market in today’s world and now requires a more serious effort, sources said.
Brands could change the way they approach search marketing if promoted videos were introduced more widely. Marketers could shift goals strictly focusing on clicks and sales to focus more on raising brand awareness. Still, it’s unclear if catching consumers while searching the Internet is the right context for this type of advertising, said Jim Nail, a Forrester analyst.
“If advertisers could buy video, their favorite format, on search, their favorite place to reach consumers, it would be a gusher of money for Google,” Nail said. “But does it work?”
“Marketers are getting less dependent on the microsite, because every feed-based website is giving the content away right there, when consumers want it,” the agency source said. “Google’s doing the same thing bringing the content to the feed, and that’s video.”
Time will truly tell if this will be a viable option for marketers, and if launched, the statistics on conversions will become a key indicator for both big and small brands alike.
Recent reports now show that Google is testing promoted video ads in their search results, a format that could bring in more brand dollars to marketing there.
The search video ads are in a limited test phase right now and have come up in discussions between Google and the ad industry, according to sources. The video ads would be the next step in Google’s evolution of search advertising, which started as simple links but has evolved into including the photos, news, and other media formats that we are all so accustomed to seeing.
A digital marketing exec stated “What used to be narrowly defined as search is being turned on its head. Google is finally getting away from just having three lines of text. Video ads have taken over mobile, Facebook and YouTube, and Google is thinking about how to integrate them into search.”
The leading search company isn’t alone in its interest in promoted videos in results. Yahoo is developing its own version of video ad placement in search results, and Bing sells “Rich Ads.”
“Rich Ads are truly effective because they allow advertisers to engage better with potential customers on the search engine results page, provide enriching video content allowing them to extend their brand or campaign assets and offers a higher conversion rate,” John Cosley, marketing director in the Search Advertising Group at Microsoft, said in an emailed statement.
Google would has not commented on any current plans to introduce search video ads, but the company said it has played with the format in the past. “We’ve experimented with a number of different video search formats over the years but don’t have anything specific that we’re launching right now,” the company said.
For some time, Google has floated the idea of video thumbnails in some sponsored results and other variations; however, digital video advertising is a much more mature market in today’s world and now requires a more serious effort, sources said.
Brands could change the way they approach search marketing if promoted videos were introduced more widely. Marketers could shift goals strictly focusing on clicks and sales to focus more on raising brand awareness. Still, it’s unclear if catching consumers while searching the Internet is the right context for this type of advertising, said Jim Nail, a Forrester analyst.
“If advertisers could buy video, their favorite format, on search, their favorite place to reach consumers, it would be a gusher of money for Google,” Nail said. “But does it work?”
“Marketers are getting less dependent on the microsite, because every feed-based website is giving the content away right there, when consumers want it,” the agency source said. “Google’s doing the same thing bringing the content to the feed, and that’s video.”
Time will truly tell if this will be a viable option for marketers, and if launched, the statistics on conversions will become a key indicator for both big and small brands alike.
Published on August 31, 2015
About the Author: Chris Williams
