In the digital advertising landscape, Google Ads and Facebook Ads are undoubtedly the two giants, profoundly influencing the strategic layouts of affiliate marketing practitioners, media buyers, and advertisers. Recently, both platforms have rolled out significant updates and trends, bringing new ideas and opportunities for ad placement.
Google Ads: Double Exposure on a Single Search Page
Google Ads has recently launched a major update: high-quality ads can now appear not only at the top of the search results page but also at the bottom simultaneously. This means that an advertiser’s ad may appear twice on a single Search Engine Results Page (SERP), doubling the exposure opportunities instantly.
The core of this change is that Google now treats top and bottom ad positions as separate auction units, abandoning the previous "either/or" rule. According to official tests, the exposure of relevant ads has increased by 10%, and the conversion rate of bottom positions has even risen by 14% — indicating that users are willing to interact with bottom ads, which are not "invalid positions."
Notably, this does not violate Google’s "Unfair Advantage" policy. Since the two positions come from independent auctions, ads do not compete with themselves. As long as the algorithm determines that the ad is valuable to users, dual display is allowed.
For advertisers, no additional settings are required to participate, but strategic optimization is necessary:
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Track placement performance: Use Google Ads’ segmentation tools to monitor CTR and conversion rates of ads in top and bottom positions to identify which positions are more effective — a key part of media buying optimization.
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Focus on Quality Score: Ad relevance, expected CTR, and landing page experience are core. Headlines need to attract clicks, and landing pages should load quickly with content matching search intent — this is the basis for qualifying for dual display and critical for affiliate marketing campaigns.
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Optimize bidding and creatives: Bottom ads may cost less, but testing different copy is needed — for example, using brand selling points in top ads to attract attention and promotional information in bottom ads to drive conversions. This aligns with media buying strategies of balancing cost and effect.
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Combine smart bidding: Use automated bidding tools to seize new opportunities, but manually monitor data to avoid algorithmic misjudgment — a common practice in ad placement management.
Facebook Ads: AI Empowerment, Combining Creativity and Precision
Facebook Ads, as a core platform for social media advertising, has also been active in 2025, continuously empowering advertisers through AI technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ad placement.
Meta has invested heavily in AI and automation to help advertisers manage ad campaigns and continuously optimize performance — a boon for media buyers seeking to streamline workflows. For example, the Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) feature uses AI to automatically test different combinations of headlines, visual elements, and calls to action (CTAs) to find the most effective ones. Intelligent automation tools simplify ad campaign setup and tracking, automatically managing audiences and bids.
In terms of ad formats, short videos and augmented reality (AR) have become focal points. Instagram Reels and Facebook Stories — staples of social media advertising — have become key to capturing user attention. AR ads even allow consumers to virtually try products before purchasing, such as glasses and furniture. For instance, a fashion brand used AR ads to let users virtually try on clothes, significantly increasing user engagement and purchase conversion rates — a success story for affiliate marketing practitioners to reference.
To achieve better results on Facebook Ads, advertisers can adopt the following strategies:
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Leverage Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns: This is Meta’s latest AI-driven ad campaign structure, especially suitable for e-commerce brands in affiliate marketing. It automatically optimizes for the best results, reducing tedious manual settings.
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Precise remarketing: Launch customized remarketing ads targeting website visitors, video viewers, or users who abandoned their shopping carts. These "warmed-up" audiences are more likely to convert — a tactic widely used in media buying.
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Create high-quality short videos: Produce high-quality Reels and Stories, using subtitles, eye-catching elements, and popular sounds to enhance effectiveness — a must for social media advertising.
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Conduct creative testing and rotation: Continuously test multiple versions of ad creatives, and Meta’s AI will identify the best-performing combinations — critical for ad placement success.
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Use lookalike audiences: Reach new users with behaviors similar to your best customers to help scale ad campaigns — a common strategy in online advertising.
In conclusion, both Google Ads and Facebook Ads updates reflect the online advertising industry’s focus on "ad quality" and "user experience." For advertisers, integrating the strengths of both platforms — leveraging Google Ads to capture active demand and Facebook Ads (a core social media advertising platform) to tap potential demand — and combining them with tools like high-quality ad accounts and virtual credit cards (for stable ads payment and account management) will be the key to maximizing advertising effectiveness in 2025.