Click on this to see if you can tell what is an ad and what isn't. Google has eliminated the once clear difference between ads and organic search.

Language learners tend to rely on Google to plan their travel.  Say for example that you are using Language101.com to learn French online but you also want to take an in person French class when you visit Bordeaux.

The image to the left is a screen shot of a search on the term, “Learn French Bordeaux.”

Click on it and quickly see if you can tell the difference between the ads and the organic search results.

In case you hadn’t noticed, Google has been gradually reducing the difference between paid ads and organic search results.

First they gradually reduced the shading over the ads until it was invisible on some monitors from some angles.

Now (for some users) it has been entirely dropped.

There is still a tiny easy to overlook line that separates organic search results and paid ads, however I think most users would be misled into thinking that an ad was an organic search result.

Of course ads can be useful to travelers too, but you really need to be able to tell what is an ad and what isn’t.

Is Google In Financial Trouble, Who Knows?

Google’s change from ads you could easily identify to ads that look like organic search listings seems like a desperate attempt to boost falling advertising revenue?  Only a Google insider knows for sure.  While there still is a tiny visual difference here, the goal is clearly to mislead searchers.

A Failed Strategy at Yahoo

Google apparently is going down a path that Yahoo tried and failed with.  You may remember that Yahoo search used to be primarily a paid index.  While the Yahoo index still exists, the marketplace rejected that model.

Yahoo was then forced to outsource search results to Bing.  Today Yahoo Search (which is different than the Yahoo index) is very clear about which results are paid ads and which ones are organic search.

Searchers Beware

So Google, the once trustworthy search provider, seems to be phasing in a slightly less clear presentation of which results the internet has judged to be good, and which results are paid.

Blessings on the people at Google who made this decision.  Like all of us they are doing the best they can.  However hopefully they will realize that clarity about what is an ad and what isn’t an ad, is good for business.  Until that happens it’s “Searchers beware!”

You May Not Be Seeing These Results Yet.

Google customizes search results for everyone based on your prior search history, your IP address and of course what operating system and browser you are using.  Many people (perhaps most) still have a slight tint over the ads that may make it possible to tell what is an ad and what isn’t.

Last Updated:  October 20, 2001