The way of the world has become mobile in the past few years, making the game of advertising a completely different one all together. People had to start from scratch, basically, as the internet ads that worked so well for a while became much less useful in what seemed like an instant. Google has done a great job at helping advertisers optimize their efforts for the mobile generation.
According to Google’s Ad Blog, 44% of all Americans own a smartphone now, and there are countless other people who, if they don’t have smartphones, have other mobile devices. It’s for this reason that Google is continuously improving upon their mobile search ads. Their newest addition to their mobile ad campaign is a redesign in search ads that has brought them to Google Maps. Google states a few of the new features that they’ve brought in their Inside AdWords Blog; “The updated formats feature several key improvements: Important calls to action like ‘get directions’ and ‘click to call are now prominent in the ad and clickable in more places.” Being that clickability is a major factor in internet and mobile advertising, Google has made a great choice to work on this feature in their ads. Calls to action have always been something that Google has had a great grip on, however. Also, Google has utilized a tool called a “hyperlocal marker” within their advertisements, to show users how close they are to businesses being advertised. Therefore, wherever a user is in Google Maps, local businesses near that point will have advertisements shown, along with a proximity to their location.
“To enable advertisers to better connect with potential customers through mobile search, we have redesigned our local ad formats for Google Maps for Mobile. These have produced measurable results – in initial tests, these redesigned formats increased click-through-rates by 100%,” Google writes on Inside AdWords. This claim of a 100% increase in click-throughs is a significantly huge one, but it is simply from the initial tests. However, it does show a huge potential if things were to run similarly to the testing. Google Maps Mobile is a widely used application, helping people find new places to eat, to sleep, to get medical attention, or even just have fun. With places like that being marketed directly in front of them in the process, it will be hard for them to not take advantage of the advertisements, especially when they show users how to get to the local business.
Google has been very efficient about optimizing their advertising network to the mobile market. Their new Google Maps Mobile advertising improvements are sure to be a success, because they are innovative and create a user-friendly, clickable display. Many small businesses will benefit greatly by utilizing these innovations, for they will bring consumers and potential customers straight to the doorstep. By enabling the new location extensions option within AdWords, small businesses and advertisers can take advantage of the intriguing new features the Google has created.
