The top of the search results page is some of the most expensive real estate in business. Advertisers have spent two decades bidding against each other for that coveted spot, and platforms have built trillion-dollar businesses selling it. The logic, borrowed from newspapers and legacy media, is simple: higher placement means more eyes, and more eyes mean more sales.
But new research from Yang Li, Ivey Associate Professor of Management Science, suggests that logic might be incomplete.
Li’s paper, Position Auctions with Endogenous Product Information: Why Live-Streaming Advertising Is Thriving, co-authored with researchers at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), found that businesses chasing the top spot risk leaving significant revenue on the table. Giving consumers more useful product information within an ad, the research suggests, can pay off more than securing prime placement alone.
The business of going live
Li began researching the subject in 2020, when the rise of livestream commerce on platforms such as Amazon Live, TikTok Shop, and Alibaba’s Taobao Live offered a new way to explore the relationship between ad placement and product information.
Think of it as a modern, more interactive version of TSC (formerly The Shopping Channel). In livestreaming, a host presents products one after another, demonstrating features, answering viewers’ questions, and tailoring the pitch to their interests. Unlike a traditional online ad, which largely relies on a fixed message and prominent placement, livestreaming gives brands an opportunity to bring products to life and tailor the information to what consumers want to know.
That combination of visibility and interaction may help explain livestreaming’s growing appeal. The global livestream commerce market, worth $241 billion in 2025, is forecast to reach $3.5 trillion by 2033 as North America and Europe embrace the trend. Asia Pacific currently accounts for about two-thirds of global revenue.
For platforms, the appeal goes beyond keeping viewers watching. By combining product placement with demonstrations and real-time engagement, livestreaming can make advertising more profitable.
“The information, the demonstration, that engagement – the interactive exchange of product information – makes this new type of advertisement more profitable for the platform,” said Li.
But livestreaming offered Li and his co-authors more than a booming new market. It also provided a compelling real-world demonstration of their theory: in advertising, it’s not just where you say something, but how you say it.
Why first isn't always best
The best ad isn't necessarily the one at the top of the page.
To test their theory, Li and his co-authors built a mathematical model of a livestreaming e-commerce platform. They used it to compare advertising strategies that prioritize product placement with those that emphasize the information consumers receive about each product.
The results showed just how much product information can matter.
Even in the worst-case scenario, a strategy focused on product information could deliver at least two-thirds of the revenue achievable through the best possible approach. A placement-only strategy, by contrast, came with no comparable guarantee.
For businesses, the lesson isn't that placement doesn't matter. It's that securing a prime spot is no guarantee of success if an ad fails to communicate what makes a product worth buying.
Li uses the premium earbud market to illustrate the point.
Imagine two competitors: one sells earbuds with best-in-class noise cancellation, the other with superior waterproofing. Both bid for the top search result, but a runner looking for waterproof earbuds may have little interest in noise cancellation. Rather than simply paying for the most prominent position, businesses need to consider which product features matter most to their target customers.
“There’s a lot of value placed on securing the top ad position, and for good reason. But a higher position doesn’t automatically mean a better return. Businesses can get more from their advertising dollars by focusing on the information that matters most to the customers they want to reach,” said Li.
The cost of saying too little
For business leaders planning their next advertising campaign, Li recommends three strategies to keep in mind.
1. Make every word earn its place.
Before your next campaign, scrutinize the ad itself as closely as you evaluate its placement. If the message focuses on your brand rather than what sets your product apart, you could be paying a premium to reach consumers without giving them a compelling reason to buy.
2. Compete for customers, not just position.
The impulse to match or outbid a competitor for premium placement is understandable. But businesses may be better served by shifting their focus from placement to the customer: who they are, what they need, and what information will persuade them to buy.
3. Get your message right before AI decides what’s right for you.
Google and Amazon are already using AI to auto-generate ad copy, pulling from brand websites to create messages on an advertiser’s behalf. For businesses without a clear, differentiated point of view, that shift is already underway.
“If businesses rely on platforms to generate their advertising, they risk losing control over how their products are presented and what information gets emphasized,” said Li. “That makes it even more important for businesses to understand what differentiates their products and what they want consumers to know.”
Because, ultimately, getting seen is one thing. Giving customers a compelling reason to care – and buy – is another.
For more on the research behind these findings, read Li’s paper, Position Auctions with Endogenous Product Information: Why Live-Streaming Advertising Is Thriving, co-authored with Ying-Ju Chen of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Guillermo Gallego and Pin Gao of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
