Facebook is Starting To Test Search Ads in its Search Results and Marketplace

It's an ad duopoly battle. From a report: Facebook is starting to test search ads in its search results and Marketplace, directly competing with Google's AdWords. Facebook first tried Sponsored Results back in 2012 but eventually shut down the product in 2013. Now it's going to let a small set of automotive, retail, and ecommerce industry advertisers show users ads on the search results page on mobile in the US and Canada.

They'll be repurposed News Feed ads featuring a headline, image, copy text, and a link in the static image or carousel format that can point users to external websites. Facebook declined to share screenshots as it says the exact design is still evolving. Facebook may expand search ads to more countries based on the test's performance.

Re: news for nerds?

[Anonymous Coward]

I saw one of these new ads. It was relevant. It was not clear at all on the offer date range and you couldnâ(TM)t click on it but at least it made a point

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[DickBreath]

advertisements for nerds. ads that matter.

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[BringsApples]

News for heards
Stuff that flatters

What Purpose Does Facebook Serve?

[dryriver]

Its a seriously crappily designed social-media site where every mouse click, every keystroke, every like, every photo upload and probably even your live webcam image and what your (mobile) device's microphone picks up is sold to every advertiser, every crime organization and every government that wants your data. People use Facebook why again? Oh - because Mark Zuckerberg is a really nice guy. (He pointed out that my shoelaces are untied once - I have loved and respected him ever since! Without Mark, I surely would have gone flying on my face!)

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[DickBreath]

Facebook serves an important role in backing up your personal information to many redundant third parties so that it is safe. You benefit from this because these unnamed third parties are then able to track you across the internet as you visit pages which have Facebook buttons on them. It is as if these third parties are invisibly your co-pilot. Always sitting right over your shoulder, watching everything you do so that they can help you to know where to spend your money, or what kind of malware is most

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[dryriver]

Excuse me, but isn't it YOUR political camp that promotes gender-bending nonsense for everyone starting from infancy?

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[Bradac_55]

Your kidding yourself if you think that's just Facebook.

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[DickBreath]

You don't really know whether such testing has already been conducted. Nor do you now exactly what testing methodologies were used. So you should not just go making such assumptions about the lack of QA.

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[nwaack]

True. But if the QA was conducted by Facebook employees I'm sure it was poorly done anyways.

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[dryriver]

Facebook employees are even MORE GENIUS than the geniuses employed at Apple stores. OF COURSE they get their QA right. Didn't you watch the amazing Hollywood film about the Social Network and all the GENIUS that went into creating it??? It takes a GENIUS to fool billions of people around the world into giving up their most personal data in exchange for - erm - nothing really.

Someone's getting desperate

[Opportunist]

I'm old... old enough to remember Facebook when it was just a student directory. It started small and it'll end small!

Not on my computer

[p51d007]

There are NO ads, no "trending" crap on my Fakebook page. Of course it takes multiple blockers to accomplish that.