Ads On Google Image Search

Google recently added text ads alongside their image search and has been showing them for some time (though I have not seen an announcement from Google that it is permanent):

This is a major new source of traffic.

The apparent downside of it is that it may not be targeted enough.

Many folks looking for a picture don't have commercial intent.  

At the same time, this does not mean that it should be overlooked.

Searching for images might be a part of research or information gathering somebody takes before he or she buys.  Anybody who types in an image ad is actively looking for something (it's an indication of interest in a topic).

In other words, this is something to continue monitoring as it could be significant in many campaigns.

More information on this topic can be found at:

• http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/03/google-image-search-ads-in-the-wild-looks-like-they-need-work/ (From October)
• http://www.accuracast.com/search-daily-news/ppc-7471/sponsored-links-on-google-image-search-results/
• http://searchengineland.com/google-image-search-now-trying-text-ads-instead-of-image-ads-15650