Google Local testing graphical ads

~~Raj~~ · 04-02-2006, 5:58 PM

Google Local testing graphical ads

Another day, another Google beta thingymajig. This one is brought to you by way of blogger Shimon Shandler, who came across examples of graphical ads on Google Local last week. It's not a huge change to the Local service, at least not yet. Blink and you'll miss it. For some searches such as "booksellers nyc" or "chicago ralph lauren", the Local results map may show little icons for paid ads related to your search. For instance, the "booksellers" example can bring up little coffee cups, representing Barnes & Noble stores, and clicking on the icon then brings up the familiar balloon Google map results have sported for a long time, only this time the B&N logo gets a nice front-and-center presentation in the information bubble.

Now, I said that you may see these icons on your map. The first time I tried it, I got what looked like a book representing Ralph Lauren, and the whole logo display worked just fine as well. At the bottom of the left-hand results bar, there was another little book icon that brought up the main map Ralph Lauren balloon as if I had clicked on the map icon directly. Why a book for a clothing retailer? Beats me, and the article I ripped the example from mentioned a flower as RL's icon, which doesn't make any sense either.

But that was all I got. The bookstore example never worked for me, and when I then tried Ralph Lauren in Chicago again, the books were gone. If you're curious about this new feature, you can try your luck, but don't expect results every time at this point. When the beta period expires—and given Google's history with betas, that could take a very long time—it wouldn't surprise me if the Local maps get littered with these cutesy little icons until we can't stand the sight anymore. But for now, they're a rare breed.

So what difference will graphical ads in Google's local search service make in the long run? First, Google seems to be giving the image feature away as a free perk to existing advertisers. "Local business ads are priced the same as regular Google text ads, according to information about the new program on Google's Web site," says the PC World article that brought up the Ralph Lauren sample search. "Advertisers are charged based on clicks through to their Web sites." So at least during this limited testing period, it's just butter on the toast. But it's reasonable to expect that unless extra charges get added on for the icons and logos, every ad on Google Local will eventually sport them. There would be no reason not to, unless your company wants to stand apart by being blander than the rest. And some observers think there's more to come beyond simple graphics:

"It's a harbinger of more things on maps," such as video, embedded chat and pay-per-call or click-to-call, said Greg Sterling, managing editor at The Kelsey Group at Kelsey's Drilling Down on Local conference. "Putting technology in the balloons can enable all kinds of interesting exchanges with merchants."

For example, someone searching for a car could find locations of sellers on a map and instantly ask sellers whether the car is still available, its price and other information, Sterling said.

It does look tempting to integrate other existing Google services such as Google Talk into the local search results. "Click here to start a chat with our customer representatives, and we'll talk you into buying a condo!" In the end, it's all about making the ads more effective so that merchants feel comfortable increasing their online advertising budget. And eventually offline, too.