Local Pack Ads, Google Ka-Ching!, Claude Super Bowl Ads, AI Ankle-Biters

Local Pack Ads Explosion

As part of Google's increasingly aggressive monetization of the SERP, it's blurring the differences between ads and organic links at the top of the page. But it's also putting more ads in more places. Joy Hawkins recently posted about the percentage of keywords generating Local Packs with ads. In November 2024, roughly 1% of Local Packs had ads. Last month it was 22%. I predict it will rise to reach or exceed 50% this year. Eventually, every Local Pack may have ads, provided Google has the advertiser inventory. But take a look at the image below. The Local Pack ad unit is heavily privileged, not only because it's at the top of the Pack but because it exclusively displays action buttons. Matt McGee showed something similar in real-estate, where ads appearing above the Pack also featured call, messaging and reviews buttons absent from Local Pack listings. A significant percentage of Google users consciously try to avoid ads. However, in the case of Local Services Ads (LSAs) and Pack Ads, the units carry identical or nearly identical content as organic local listings and they have privileged placement and features. People are thus more inclined to notice and click them. Google is trying to make these ads look less like ads and more like organic content. LSAs, when they appear, capture a significant percentage of clicks and conversions, reducing Pack engagement and clicks. Slowly but surely on Google, it's becoming pay to play.