Google is running an experiment that adds favicons beside the URL in text ads. The company says it’s looking forward to seeing how this small change impacts users and online advertisements as a whole, though there are some limitations on what types of sites can take advantage–for now at least!
Darcy Burk, founder and CEO of Burk Digital Factory was curious to see if what he saw on a Google search page was something new. He shared this screenshot with his fans via Twitter posting:
At first glance, it looks like a pizza emoji. Although emojis are listed as “invalid or unsupported characters”, according to Google Advertising Policy Help Document, they were spotted multiple times in ad URLs in recent years.
When it comes to this Google Ad, how did Uber Eats, an online food ordering and delivery platform, get that pizza emoji? Especially considering the ad directly below it has a generic favicon?
Now we know. Burk received a reply from Ginny Marvin, Google’s ads product liaison. And it isn’t an emoji – it’s a favicon.
According to Marvin, Burk’s tweet was a part of a small, ongoing test for advertisers.
“This is part of a series of small experiments that help users more easily identify a brand or advertiser associated with search ads that they can see for a particular query.” @adsliaison
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