Yahoo is testing an interesting way to display ads in their search results, with ads that are nothing more than the rating with the website name and a “Top Rated Sponsors” header in the sidebar.

They only show up on the right hand sidebar of the search results and they appear above the “see more ads for” and the regular ads.  But if the page has shopping ads on the right side, then this “top rated sponsors” will show up underneath it.

When you click through, it takes you through to the website’s landing page, as it would with a click on a regular ad in the search results.

Here are some more examples:

The companies being displayed in the ratings only seem to show when they also have an ad appearing on the page.  So it doesn’t appear that someone can have a ratings ad appear without also having a regular ad being served on the page.  So it is an additional click opportunity for those being featured.

The results always display with the highest ratings first.  So if these ads end up being served regularly, it will become important for companies to ensure their ratings are high in order to be displayed.

The “Top Rated Sponsors” can have anywhere between two and five websites featured in these sections, with the average seeming to be 3-4.  But again, it is also restricted by ads currently displayed on the page that have ratings enabled.

This appears to be only a limited test, as it only showed on one computer and they weren’t displayed in Bing search results.  But it is a pretty interesting opportunity for advertisers who like to try different things with their search ads.