Google has unveiled a new advertising feature that will appear as clickable text on external websites, known as Page Annotation.
Google’s Page Annotations Set to Link Searches on Web Pages
At present, Page Annotations are available solely through the Google app on iOS. The tech giant has stated that it will “extract interesting information from Google Knowledge Graph entities and highlight them inline.” When users click on these text ads, they will receive further information about people, places, or items without needing to navigate away from the site they are currently visiting.
This update was shared in the Google Search community forums and reported by SERoundTable.
The introduction of Page Annotations may remind some of Google’s earlier announcement this year regarding a new ad format called Ad Intents in Google AdSense. This previous format allowed ads to take the form of clickable links embedded within web pages. When users clicked these links, they were redirected to a Google Search results page. Importantly, this format did not depend on third-party cookies and was available as an opt-in feature, meaning that publishers had to expressly choose to take part in the program.
In contrast, the new advertising experience offered by Page Annotations functions as an opt-out feature. Publishers need to actively opt out by filling out a form via Google Docs. They must specify all types of domains, including www and non-www, http and https, as well as subdomains. The approval process for opting out might take as long as 30 days.
This approach raises some concerns, especially with Google currently facing scrutiny related to an antitrust case by the U.S. Department of Justice. A federal judge has already determined that Google has engaged in practices that have formed and maintained an illegal monopoly. Additionally, the company’s advertising practices are being examined, with the DOJ suggesting remedies that could significantly impact Google, potentially leading to the sale of Chrome.
According to 9to5Google, this new search feature can be accessed through the Google app on iOS. However, despite looking into it, I was unable to find a way to showcase these ads in the app, even on the specific page mentioned in Google’s announcement, indicating that the rollout for users may be gradual.
From a user perspective, both advertising experiences leave much to be desired. Generally, users anticipate that on-page links will facilitate direct contextually relevant navigation, guiding them to different pages within the same site. Instead, these links now prompt advertisements in pop-up windows.
Although placing ads on Google’s own pages is seen as acceptable, embedding ads on third-party sites raises ethical questions. It’s possible that users might express frustration towards either Google or the host website. Many site owners might not be aware of these changes, and if they do not opt out of Page Annotations, their website traffic could decline as visitors might be dissuaded by the advertisements.
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