Four years after Google introduced the arrows to scroll Google AdSense ads across most ad format, Google has just removed them.
I am not sure exactly when it happened but it was sometime over the weekend.
I am also not sure if this is a bug or a change to how Google AdSense ads behave.
Here is the before and after shots.
Between August 2008 & May 2012 Google AdSense Ads Had Arrows To Scroll Ads:
After May 21, 2012, Arrows Go Missing:
In fact, Google started testing scrolling AdSense ads back in December 2007 and has stuck with it since mid-2008. So to drop it four years later seems interesting.
AdSense publishers are not sure what to make of the arrows not being there. I do wonder how many users actually clicked on the arrows, I bet it is something like 0.000001% of users.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
