There’s another new development for Google AdWords advertisers who use the “Google Display Network” of third-party sites. Until now, external siteowners could choose not to show text ads on their pages, preferring the look of “image” ads. These sites would then be out of reach of Display Network advertisers who didn’t have the resources to create image ads. The new type of ad is called the “magazine ad”, and it turns standard text ads into slightly prettier versions which could pass off as restrained image ads.
As an advertiser, what it means is that if you’re using the Display Network with text ads only, you might be able to reach a wider range of sites, although I doubt it’ll have a huge impact. Most likely, it will continue the inexorable trend of higher clickthrough prices, as more ads compete for certain positions.