{"id":2514,"date":"2026-01-31T00:46:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T16:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=2514"},"modified":"2026-01-31T00:46:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T16:46:38","slug":"google-tests-third-party-endorsements-in-search-ads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=2514","title":{"rendered":"Google tests third-party endorsements in search ads"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

Google is experimenting with showing third-party endorsement content directly within Search ads.<\/p>

The test places short endorsements from external publishers under the ad description, including the third party\u2019s name, logo, and favicon.<\/p>

What\u2019s showing up<\/strong>. The test was first spotted by Sarah Blocksidge, Marketing Director at Sixth City Marketing, who shared a screenshot on Mastodon. In the example, a Search ad included the line \u201cBest for Frequent Travelers,\u201d<\/em> attributed to PCMag, complete with the publication\u2019s favicon.<\/p>

\"16611bd61ac96758\"\"16611bd61ac96758\"<\/figure>

The endorsement appears directly beneath the ad copy, visually separating it from standard advertiser-written text.<\/p>

Why we care.<\/strong> If rolled out more broadly, the change could make Search ads feel more like product reviews \u2014 and potentially give advertisers with strong third-party validation a new advantage in crowded auctions.<\/p>

What Google says<\/strong>. A Google Ads spokesperson confirmed the test, calling it \u201ca small experiment\u201d \u2013 <\/p>

  • \u201cThis is a small experiment we are currently running that explores placing third-party endorsement content on Search ads.\u201d<\/li> <\/ul>

    Google did not provide details on eligibility, sourcing, advertiser controls, or how endorsements are selected.<\/p>

    What we don\u2019t know yet. <\/strong>It\u2019s unclear whether advertisers can opt into the feature, request specific endorsements, or influence which third-party sources appear. Google also hasn\u2019t said whether the test is tied to existing review extensions, publisher partnerships, or broader trust and safety initiatives.<\/p>

    What to watch<\/strong>. If Google expands the experiment, third-party credibility could become a more visible factor in ad performance \u2014 shifting emphasis from advertiser claims to external validation at the point of search.<\/p>

    For now, the test appears limited, but it offers a glimpse at how Google may continue blending ads, trust signals, and editorial-style context in search results.<\/p>

    Dig Deeper.<\/strong> Screenshot shared on Mastadon.<\/p> <\/div>

    Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page\u2019s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.<\/em> <\/p>

    \"Anu\"Anu <\/div> <\/p><\/div>

    Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land<\/span> since 2024. She covers<\/span> paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.<\/span><\/p>

    In 2008, Anu started her career delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side. <\/span><\/span>Outside editing Search Engine Land article she is the founder of PPC networking event – PPC Live and host of <\/span><\/span>weekly podcast PPC Live The Podcast.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

    She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US, UK, Munich, Berlin), Friends of Search (Amsterdam, NL), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna, IT) and more.<\/span><\/span><\/p> <\/p><\/div> <\/p><\/div> <\/p><\/div> <\/p><\/div> <\/p><\/div> <\/div>

    <\/p>

    <\/p><\/div>

    News#Google #tests #thirdparty #endorsements #search #ads1769791598<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Google is experimenting with showing third-party endorsement content directly within Search ads. The test places short endorsements from external publishers under the ad description, including the third party\u2019s name, logo, and favicon. What\u2019s showing up. The test was first spotted by Sarah Blocksidge, Marketing Director at Sixth City Marketing, who shared a screenshot on Mastodon. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[152,7326,75,83,95,1706,7325],"class_list":["post-2514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers","tag-ads","tag-endorsements","tag-google","tag-news","tag-search","tag-tests","tag-thirdparty"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}