Google in shock 'we serve ads' claim

Ad giant slaps ad label on search ads

Google has re-labeled its ads. It now calls them ads.

On English language Google domains, the company's search ads are no longer labeled as "sponsored links," as they have been for roughly a decade. Instead, Google has made the shocking decision to call them what they are:

Google ad labeled as an ad

According to the company, it's also rolling out ad labels for search ads for all languages and domains. But it prefers to downplay the change. "We are always experimenting with the look and feel of our search result pages, including the delivery of relevant advertising," a company spokesperson said.

As Search Engine Land points out, Google is still using the "sponsored links" label on AdSense ads that turn up on Gmail and other sites.

The company was spotted testing its search-ad ad labels earlier this month. ®