Unlike Overture, Google still refuses to allow advertisers to purchase contextual ads separately from search listings. But at least now, it won’t necessarily charge you the same price as when the same ad is search-targeted through its new “Smart Pricing” program.
That’s important, since advertisers are often concerned that contextual ads don’t convert as well as search ads.
How much will your discount be? It depends. Google’s using its own system to determine what it thinks the value of a click is worth. It’s a pity they simply don’t let the advertiser make that decision, as does Overture.
ClickZ has a summary of the changes, Kevin Lee provides tips on getting more out of the new system and Andrew Goodman, while clearly not happy about having to “take what we can get,” sees positives in the cheaper prices.