Google introduces position targeting option
The Search Engine Watch forum reports on a recent enhancement to Google Adwords (I get the impression that it is being selectively rolled out), which will enable AdWords advertisers to indicate the position where they would like their ads to be displayed. Of course, there is no guarantee that just indicating their preferred option will generate ad impressions for them, as the AdRank criteria still apply. The position targeting is mainly an opt-out mechanism for advertisers, to put into use some of the information they gather from their campaign reports and fine tune their campaigns.
Using position targeting will mean that the number of impressions will be reduced and consequently the number of clicks will also affected. So, advertisers have to be cautious about the positioning strategy they use and decide how specific they wish to get with it.
From a bigger picture standpoint, how could this impact Google’s revenues? If more advertisers opt for very specific positions, such that they get bidded out from a position continuously, it will definitely have an impact on Google’s revenues. Likewise, there may be an impact on the AdSense publisher revenues (which ultimately has an impact on the Google top line).
The other way of looking at it is that it could raise the bid prices as advertisers target specific positions; certainly not good news for advertisers, but a potential boost to Big G’s revenues.
Which way will it pan out?
