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Google Suggest gets search ad test

Google now is showing advertisements to some who use the drop-down box that suggests search queries based on what people are typing.

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Stephen Shankland principal writer
Stephen Shankland has been a reporter at CNET since 1998 and writes about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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  • I've been covering the technology industry for 24 years and was a science writer for five years before that. I've got deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and other dee
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Stephen Shankland

Google has begun testing ads that accompany the suggestions that appear when people begin typing in a search query.

Google Suggest is a feature that provides a drop-down listing possible search terms; I find it handy for completing long queries with the down arrow and the Enter key. With some people, though, Google is testing a green search ad at the top of the list, Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land reported.

The text ads that appear above or to the right of search results happen to be Google's massive profit engine, but the company also said its tests show they improve people's search experience overall. It's not clear whether that will prove to be the case for search ads that appear in Google Suggest, but Google has been adding all sorts of ways to make more money from its site.

I use Google's search page less and less now that I've begun using Chrome, whose address bar leads directly is a Google search box. Has anyone seen search ads showing in Chrome's search results suggestion drop-down?