Google to Penalise Sites With Too Many Ads

January 23rd, 2012 by Lynsey

Google announced an algorithm update on Friday – which, according to Matt Cutts, should improve the user experience on Google organic search.

According to the blog post, Cutts describes a significant drop in user experience when landing pages from organic SERP’s have a high instance of ads above the fold (What does Google class as an ad we hear you ask? We want to know too). Above the fold areas should be reserved for key content which is being pursued by the searcher – allowing for a richer user experience.

This move has ruffled the feathers of many in the SEO community, as by their own standards, Google’s own search result pages would be in danger of being penalised themselves.

Try searching for “credit cards” and see how many ad results you get back. We see 10 results for .ie and a whopping 12 results in co.uk, including Google’s own credit card comparison ad at the very top.

More angry voices coming by way of some small online businesses, who feel that Google are systematically favouring larger brands and companies at every turn – many feeling that “what’s good for the goose” should be good for the gander (that is, if small sites trying to make a living by serving up ads on their site can be penalised like this, why shouldn’t Google themselves be punished?). Have a read of the comments on Google’s blog post for a taster.

Unlikely lads, but fair point.