Ads are taking over prominent free listing surfaces on Google

For several years now, ranking within Google's free listing results has been one of the most profitable opportunities for eCommerce sites.

This has now changed in recent days, where Google is now placing ads directly above the free listing results across all related surfaces, which were previously designated into their own sponsored result units (normally at the top of the page for Shopping results).

The testing first started in March for AI Mode and has since expanded to the only other surfaces that have previously been highly beneficial to free listings traffic: within organic product grids (we can just call them "product grids" now) and also within the Shopping tab.

Sponsored Product Grid Ads in AI Mode

Google has been looking for ways to monetise AI Mode more effectively, so it wasn't a huge surprise to see ads being slotted in with the AI Mode output. This has been happening for some time with ads appearing at the bottom of the responses, but this was the first time that Google has mixed in their ad units with the output itself.

Sponsored Product Grid Ads in Web Search

Ads appearing within web search product grid results are the most impactful of all. This is the surface where there are various types of product grids that have the ability to generate considerable traffic and revenue when placed within them. It has, however, been suggested by Productrise that the CTR should still remain high for the organic component of the grid results.

Sponsored Product Grid Ads in the Shopping tab

There was a time (going back to 2020) when the Shopping tab was only filled with ads. This then changed to prioritise free listings, with the latest update going a step back in the direction of ads. And as you can see in this example for the sponsored ads appearing within the Shopping tab, there are various ads that can appear, even up to 4 ad slots in some instances.

Key Takeaways

Google seems to have now rolled out ads within product grid results in some capacity, pushing down free listing results further within the product unit. For the most part, ads seem to be duplicating the first organic result within the free listing – making it of high importance to be running Shopping ads to complement your free listings strategy (something I've always recommended anyway).

To stay competitive, it is of high importance to ensure that you remain ranking within the free listing surfaces, which are only becoming more prominent within Google's search results. This is despite the rollout of ads within the product grid results, which Google will have to be mindful of in ensuring their ads aren't showing excessively across their new advertising surface.