Facebook experiments with bigger images in ads

(Credit: Facebook)

Facebook is fussing with the look of those fuddy-duddy ads it shows to members on the right-hand side of the website. The point is to get the easily ignored ads more clicks -- and to make more money, of course.

The social network today confirmed that it is conducting a small test in the U.S. and showing some users advertisements with bigger images. The new ad unit is a tweaked version of the standard "marketplace ads," or the ads you see in the right-hand column, and is distinct from the ads you find in the News Feed.

(Credit: Screenshot/Inside Facebook) "We are running a small test in the U.S. where some people might see ads in the right-hand column that feature larger images," a company spokesperson told CNET. "We have seen that people respond favorably to larger images -- both from people and Pages -- in News Feed, and so we are testing this out on the right-hand side."

The altered unit was first spotted by Inside Facebook, which grabbed a screenshot of the unit, pictured right.

The format is distinct from typical ads in the right-hand sidebar as it includes a much larger and... [Read more]





by Jennifer Van Grove via CNET