In
the competition for local ad dollars online, Google is the reigning champ that
everyone wants a shot at. Its critics are legion. Google doesn't do a good job
of promoting local businesses, they say. It doesn't provide tailored services
or its Ad Words program is too hard to use. Those critics like to point to
Groupon and Foursquare, or even Facebook, as examples of nimble younger
companies outmaneuvering the search giant.
Of
course, Google has one thing going for it when it comes to marketing dollars:
search. The Mountain View, CA-based company hit a record two-thirds of all U.S.
searches this summer, adding to its dominance of the online medium. None of the
startups, large or small, can claim that kind of ubiquity in the habits of
shoppers. Google's latest move in the local marketing space shows that it knows
where its strengths lie. For one, the search company is adding location
targeting to its services so that a marketer can show an ad to viewers in a
specific geographic area. For example, Google will now allow you to show ads to
people it thinks are in Newark's airport based on their search patterns and
other data. If you run a business inside the airport, or sell last-minute
travel services, you can now reach a much more segmented audience.
Location
extensions is a more humdrum incremental add that puts a local business address
into a text search ad and links to both larger Google maps and analytics. The
idea is to help marketers for companies that are both national and local (think
retail chains) segment their audience. Sometimes you search Radio Shack to find
out company info, sometimes you just want the nearest store. Sure, Google can't
offer Groupon's sales reach or Foursquare's user data but it's still the
utility that powers most web experiences. For now, Google's content to grow
that dominance, instead of chasing the newbies.
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