‘Shop on Google’ paid advertisements heading to smartphones

It’s no secret that Google makes its money from advertising generated by the use of its services. This is why it is no surprise to hear that their “Shop on Google” section is now making its way over to smartphones.

This isn’t anything new for tablet and desktop users, but up until now “Shop on Google” had been left off of our smartphones.

All of the featured shopping results are clearly marked as sponsored ads. While some people don’t like the idea that major retailers can buy their way to the top of the search results page, it really isn’t any different than bulletin boards or anywhere else where companies have to pay for top advertising spots.

Like any kind of rollout, it won’t happen overnight, so it might still be several days before you see any signs of the change. I can confirm that in the United States at least a few items are already generating ads at the top, but it seems to be hit and miss at this stage.

As you can see in the photo above, the search results still look about the same as always, with a small part of the page real estate showing the product listings. Once you click into the ads, the layout changes and looks more like what you’d expect from a shopping site.

What do you think of this change, does it bother you that Google populates the top of the page with paid advertising or do you actually find it convenient to find shopping listings from major retailers and brands you trust?