Google Text Ads move towards center

If you have used Google lately, you may have already noticed that Google has moved their text ads (that were earlier displayed near the right edge of the search page) towards the center of your screen. In case you missed noticing that change, here’s a screenshot image.

google homepage

In this screenshot (taken on a 1650×1050 resolution screen), the ad unit is located at a distance of 725px from the left edge so if you were to maximize the browser window size, the ad region will fall almost in the center.

Eye tracking studies (like this “Golden Triangle” heat map from Eye Tools) suggest that people normally navigate Google search pages in an “F” pattern – they focus on the top search results and often ignore sections that are either below the fold or are located towards the right edge.

google heat map

With this recent shift towards the west, it is therefore quite obvious that the CTR figures will move further north for Google.

The change is live on the Google homepage but you’ll experience it only if the resolution of your computer monitor exceeds 1100 pixels (wide) according to Marissa Mayer. So if you are using a small screen netbook like the Asus Eee PC, you’re spared.

marissa on twitter