[thomasahle]

They always (at least since 2007) had ads in the main search result column: http://searchengineland.com/search-ad-labeling-history-googl... They've certainly removed some of the distinguishing features though.

[tyingq]

Here's a pre-2007 result. It's still at the top, but across both columns.

http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f2992c7eab8ea28690...

The point that they've slowly made changes over the years to make the ads look less like ads is very clear though.

They've also generally done a lot of work to push the organic results down. It's very easy to find queries where there's no organic result showing above the fold, even on a fairly decent desktop monitor.