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Google is testing a new People Also Consider badge on ads appearing in branded search results.
The label appears as a gray box below the company name, logo, and URL, as shown in the screenshot below:
The feature is not clickable and its purpose causes confusion among PPC marketers.
Spotted first. The new advertising badge was first noticed by Anthony Higman, CEO of an online advertising agency Adsquire. He shared his thoughts about X:
- “Google Ads is getting weird AF. ‘People Also Consider’ badge when searching for our brand.”
- “What else can people consider when searching for my brand? Or is this a sign of things to come?”
- “Is this what they did by matching all brand terms with keywords? Are they really about to throw us all into our competitors’ ad auctions without asking and then just slap a ‘People Also Consider’ badge on those ads and call it a day?”
- “I think this is why they have been linking brands to keywords for the past two years. If they’re really about to do what I think they’re about to do with this, it’s NOT smart or innovative, it’s desperate and nasty.
What Google says. Google did not immediately respond to Search Engine Land’s request for comment.
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Why now? The new badge comes just a week after Shalom Goodman saw Google testing a “Related to your search” badge on search ads. This label also appeared as a gray box under the company name, logo, and URL, as shown in the screenshot below:
Google has not yet provided any insight or further explanation about this feature.
Why we care. If Google starts forcing companies to participate in their competitors’ ad auctions, it could be bad for business. Customers may see competitor ads when they search for your brand, causing you to miss out on a potential sale. Furthermore, paying for ads on searches for competitor brands is unlikely to reach valuable customers because they are looking for a specific brand and not just a service – ultimately creating a poorer user experience.
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About the author
Nicola Agius is paid media editor at Search Engine Land after joining in 2023. She covers paid media, retail media and more. Previously, she was SEO Director at Jungle Creations (2020-2023), where she oversaw the company’s editorial strategy across multiple websites. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism and previously worked at OK! Magazine (2010-2014), Mail Online (2014-2015), Mirror (2015-2017), Digital Spy (2017-2018) and The Sun (2018-2020). She also previously worked with SEO agency Blue Array as co-author of the Amazon bestselling book Mastering In-House SEO.
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