Facebook may still be testing Sponsored Stories, but today the social network officially debuted a different kind of ad — Sponsored Results. TechCrunch reports that Facebook's search box will now include paid advertisements relating to search queries at the top of the results. Clicking on one of these ads will take you to the corresponding company's Facebook page, rather than an external website — a clear sign that Facebook aims to keep users in-house. The company said in its message to marketers that brands will have "ability to drive [traffic] to specific Pages, Tabs, and Canvas Applications."
clicking on the close button in the top right will dismiss the ad
If you don't like one of Facebook's in-line search results, clicking on the close button in the top right will dismiss the ad, but a survey immediately pops-up asking why you didn't like it. Customers are presented with a wide range of options ranging from "uninteresting" to "sexually explicit." Facebook is moving to swiftly monetize its services after going public earlier this year, and the assortment of options presented in this prompt could indicate that the company is just as keen on keeping track of advertisers as it is its users. We've confirmed the placement of the ads in our search results, and advertisers looking to take advantage of Facebook's newest ad platform should see it in the Power Editor later today.