As of 26th March 2008, Google initiated its long awaited video advertisement campaign. For some time now, Google has been testing video advertisements on its SERP. However, now this feature has been enabled in real time. It means that for now, users in the United States would be able to view advertisements not only in text, but in video formats too. The video advertisements incorporate the same feature as used in YouTube, providing excellent video and audio quality.

The video link tn the SERP includes a direct link to the concerned website as well. This facilitates the user with multi-faceted access to his desired search result. Also, the advertiser enjoys two fold benefits. The video ends with a button, which when clicked, redirects to the site home page.

This sort of advertising will greatly benefit the advertisers, especially large corporate brands who have the resources and fundings to create exceptionally creative advertisements. So far, the limit for the number of ads hasn't been announced by Google. But it's safe to assume that video ads wont be in mass numbers, as it would crowd the SERP and create an uncomfortable user experience.

The Google video advertisement starts only when a user clicks on the message. The video size is a small 160×140 pixels and uses the Google player to run. The videos have a maximum duration of 30 seconds.

In an interview with the NYT, Google's Marissa Mayer stated that, “text ads are not as effective on pages with search results that include images and video” as the eyes of users “automatically gravitate to the images more than the text”.

This innovative effort from Google will revolutionize the advertising industry for a long time to come, as more and more search engines would incorporate this feature in their SERP in the near future. This means, that the advertisers would now have to come up with even more innovative and appealing advertisements than ever before. The online advertisement race has taken a new turn and will be more fast paced and aggressive than ever.

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