Google Now Lets You Hide Sponsored Search Results, But There’s a Catch

Whenever you Google anything online, you might’ve seen sponsored ads in search results. It displays these ads at the top of the organic results, which is a part of the company’s business model. Now, Google lets you hide sponsored results while grouping them under a single, larger label… however, only after you’ve seen them. This feature is currently rolling out globally on both desktop and mobile.

Google improves search navigation with collapsible sponsored ads

In 2020, Google changed the label of paid search results from ads to sponsored. While the current label sounds less commercial, it still differentiates paid results from organic ones. When you search for a query on Google, the algorithm shows a few sponsored results at the top of the page, followed by organic results.

Now, Google has improved navigation with a new control for ads on Google Search. In its blog post, the company wrote, “Every day, billions of people turn to Google Search for information, and our goal is to help them find it seamlessly. To make navigation even easier, we’re updating how we show ads on Search”.

You’ll see a single “Sponsored results” label that groups text ads on the search results page. Previously, each paid result was labeled individually, making the page look cluttered. This larger label remains visible on the screen as you scroll the page, making it easier to identify paid ads clearly.

Furthermore, you’ll see a button at the bottom of the sponsored section called “Hide sponsored results”. When you tap it, the text ads will collapse, allowing you to focus only on the organic results. Note that sponsored results will show up at the top initially (each time you search), but now you have the option to hide them right on the page.

During testing, Google found that the new design makes it easier for people to navigate the top of the search page. Moreover, the new implementation doesn’t change the size of the ads, and you will still see a maximum of four text ads in a single group.