They begin as a banner that expands when clicked into a map with the
option to get directions or call a business. Here’s what those ads look
like:
This is obviously powerful in that it can drive someone (literally
and figuratively) to a specific store or location. The flaw, if there is
one, is that the identification of nearby locations is based on IP
targeting, which is imprecise.
Now Google has introduced a similar ad format for search that appears
in Google Maps for Mobile and offers all the targeting capabilities
that Maps provides: GPS and triangulation.
Beyond location specificity the other big difference is search
intent. The display units discussed above appear in the content network.
The new ads on Google Maps for Mobile appear in response to a search
query.
The screens that Google provided show a Sprint-related search (these units are live now).
The user initiates a search for “Sprint,” in this example. You then
see sponsored icons on the map. Not clearly pictured here is a banner
for Sprint that appears at the top of the map. However that banner will
disappear if not clicked. That’s a nice innovation.
Clicking on the banner or any of the location icons sends you to a
Google Place Page for Sprint, which then gives you the ability to call a
store or get directions. It also integrates seamlessly with Google
navigation (or directions). So the ad literally can take users “from
search to store.”
Like the content-network’s Expandable Map Ads, Google won’t charge
for the click on the map icon or banner. Google will charge for calls or
clicks on a URL.
Also like the Expandable Map Ads this is built on Location
Extensions, which must be enabled (you also have to claim Places for the
enabled locations). Google will only show one ad on the Map for any
given search/query. The ad shown will depend on essentially the same set
of factors that would determine what ads show in more traditional
Google search (bid, CTR, ad quality). However Google is scoring mobile
ads differently than PC ads.
The rules and requirements are relatively straightforward. These
units have been testing for a number of weeks but Google wouldn’t share
any performance data with me. Regardless, the capacity to take people
from a search query to a physical retail store, restaurant or other
location is both powerful and exciting.
It also starts to really take advantage of the properties and intrinsic capabilities of mobile vs. PC search.
It’s one thing to lead someone to a location when they’re already
looking for it. But consider these units in a category or “generic”
query context.
The Sprint ad shows up, for example, when I do a query for “wireless
phones.” (In fact so did a similar AT&T ad, though not at the same
time as the Sprint ad.) A search for “camping gear” delivers an ad for
LL Bean. In my area (SF Bay Area) there are no LL Bean stores so it’s an
e-commerce ad (which is not going to be that relevant to me in mobile).
But REI could just as easily be the advertiser against “camping gear,”
sending me to a local REI store. One could also easily imagine coupons
or offers being integrated in ad copy and so on.
You start to see how effective these ads are likely to be, leading
users to the point of sale. This has always been the promise of “local
search” and it’s now starting to be realized on mobile devices with ad
units like this.
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