Bing will be removing text from the sidebar in desktop search results, which is similar to what Google did. Beginning March 26, we will not be seeing any more sidebar text ads in the US.
Bing, similar to Google, has concluded that by removing text ads in the sidebar, there will be an increase in ads clicks for text ads and product ads and “an immaterial impressions impact” found in the body section of the search results.
Also, Bing will include an extra ad spot at the bottom of the search results, which means that there will be as many as four text ads that could be displayed below the organic search results.
As usual, shopping ads are going to continue showing in the sidebar in certain search results.
Bing search results will be the only one to be affected. Syndication partners like Yahoo and AOL will not be affected by this change.
There are several features that aren’t available for sidebar text ads, such as sitelink extensions. By showing ads in the mainline, text ads are going to have access to the same features. With this change, desktop will now be in line with mobile search results.
Regarding bringing the change to international markets, Bing will begin testing “at a later time.”