Google has confirmed that adverts in its search results pages aren’t displaying correctly.

Currently, the search engine is showing five sponsored posts at the top of SERPS, when there should only be four. For example:

SERPs error. Marketers raised the ads display issue on X (the platform previously known as Twitter), noting that Google has historically said that it only displays four ads at the top of search results pages.

After seeing the posts, the search engine responded to explain that its policy hadn’t changed and that SERPs simply aren’t working as they should be at this present moment.

Why we care. If Google had changed its rules and was now showing more than four ads in SERPs, this would be another opportunity for marketers to purchase ad space. However, if the search engine were to introduce more ad space, it may depreciate the value of existing ads. In addition, too many adverts can negatively impact the user experience which may subsequently harm conversions.

What has Google said? Ginny Marvin, ads product liaison at Google, responded to concerns from marketers and has said the error is being addressed. Taking to the official Google Ads Liaison Twitter account, she wrote:

• “Thanks for bringing it to my attention. This is is not working as intended and we’re working to address it.”

Deep dive. Read Google’s Ad Policies for more information on how its digital advertising ecosystem operates.