Google removes ads from the right-hand side of search results

Google is switching up how it displays ads on desktop searches, removing them from the right-hand side of results and putting them only at the top and bottom of the page.

The change was first reported by The SEM Post with Google later confirming the move to the publication.

Usually Google’s ads are shown all over the page — a mixture of top, bottom, and right-hand positions, based on the specific query — but this change leaves the sidebar free for Google’s Product Listing Ads.

According to MarketLand, the right-hand side ads are being removed for all queries, but a fourth (additional) ad will also be added to the top of the page for certain lucrative searches — for example, those for hotels or car insurance.

“We’ve been testing this layout for a long time so some people might see it on a very small number of commercial queries,” said the company in a statement.

“We’ll continue to make tweaks, but this is designed for highly commercial queries where the layout is able to provide more relevant results for people searching and better performance for advertisers.”

Google also confirmed that the change is global and affects all languages.