As it would seem, Google is putting up quite some effort into improving upon their AdSense program. A couple of months ago, we saw new, larger ad units released by Google, and this was just one of the many features introduced in 2012. More recently - this week in fact, Google introduced free video-ad serving for people using Doubleclick For Publishers. And now, it seems like Google is introducing a whole new feature - animated ads for AdSense. This could well be one of the biggest changes in years!
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Animated ads?
Yep, that's right! Animated Ads! Google is working on ads that will animate, i.e. reform and change their formatting when you hover your mouse over them. Previously, ads could only be highlighted upon mouse-over. But now, they will change their fonts and reform themselves!
Initially, you can spot these ads from the large title text font sizes, with arrows next to them. When you over over them, these ad titles will change their size, and the ad will animate into a normal looking ad with more information such as link etc. You can then click them as you please (not that we'd recommend it, what with Google getting all paranoid on self-clicking :P).
If you want to check these ads out, check out these videos posted by @incrediBILL at WebmasterWorld.
Here is another video for the skyscraper ad unit.
Why can't you see animated ads on your site?
If you don't see these kind of ads on your website, don't worry. We don't see them either. I just noticed them on other websites, and considered them worth mentioning. Google is only experimenting with this stuff, and there has been no official announcement. So we can't say anything yet, because we don't know whether Google intends to keep this feature, or withdraw it - it might depend on statistics and user feedback.
From the looks of it, not all ad units are animated. Presently, the 160x600 and 336x280, and some others show this feature. If some other ad unit is working for you, then feel free to tell us about it in the comments below!
What could this mean?
As a publisher, this could mean a lot for you. I am talking from the revenue point of view. These new ads sure are attractive (your opinion on this might differ), and can serve to boost your CTR. But we can't be sure of anything just yet. For all we know, they might reduce CTR, and even slow down your blog!
It could also mean that Google is trying viciously to get back on its AdSense game, and make people realize that AdSense is just as good now as it was (long ago). Whatever will actually happen though, is something for time to decide.
Do you see these ads on your site? If so, please tell us about them, and also share whether or not they've had any effect on your CTR. Stay happy, and keep sharing :)
