The paid version of Google Places was previously only available in France and the US, but as of the 26th October 2011 Google rolled it out in the UK and Germany.  We’re not quite sure when it will be available to Australian advertisers but we imagine it will be very soon.

So in the interim I believe it is a good idea to look a little closer at the new AdWords feature and see whether a small Australian business would actually profit from using it. Check out Google’s AdWords Express Video…Quite cool!

Before I get into detail I have to mention that most of the data presented is US centric due to the product only being available there and in France.  

What is AdWords Express?

AdWords Express (http://www.google.com/adwords/express)  is literally the paid - or let’s call it the AdWords version of Google Places (organic business results within the SERPS). Usually Google Places results are shown based on the importance of the business according to the search term. Businesses that obtained several positive (or a mix of positive and negative) customer reviews as well as brand citations on other websites,  are seen as more credible to Google and therefore feature on the top of the Google Places SERPS (see screenshot below). 

With AdWords Express, a small business is able set up a paid ad providing basic business information, ad text, monthly budget and you’re ready to go. You do not need to claim or set up places pages prior to getting started with AdWords Express.

Let’s see how this looks in the SERPS (US sample)  

As we can see AdWords Express ads pushes in-between the AdWords Ads and the Organic Google Places listings. This may create an opportunity for a business that does not have the resources to optimize an organic listing, to reserve themselves an advantageous spot on the SERPS and obtain valuable clicks to their business listing or website.  The paid listing is also displayed as a blue pin on the Google Map, clearly differentiating itself from the organic places listings.  

Assessing the real Benefits via a Heat Map Sample

A study carried out by SEOmoz’s Dr. Pete on clicks performed on a Google Places result for “best pizza in Chicago” has shown that the top listings have attracted most attention – as obviously expected.  

If we now imagine some AdWords Express ads in front of the above displayed organic results – I think we don’t have to be geniuses to predict who will also get a piece of the attention cake in the top area.   Conclusion We will definitely watch this space carefully and attempt to obtain more valuable data and researches carried out by US and German industry authorities to see exactly how beneficial Express would be for Australian businesses. However, as with most things within the digital advertising space, trial and error can turn into unforeseen success. Therefore I would like to summarise some of the main pros and cons below:  

Good

• Easy to set up (5-10 min) depending on the ad text creation.
• A click can redirect to a company website or the business places page (in case you have one).
• Based on local competition and estimated clicks Google will provide an estimated monthly budget.
• Do not need an Organic Google Places Page.
• Create multiple ads for different categories and split your budget accordingly.
• Title of the ad does not have to be business name, thus allows for a potentially more compelling ad.
• Reviews count and star rating also appear next to your ad.
• Ideal solution to test if your business relies heavily on local searches and lower start up budgets.

 Bad

• Needs time and effort to be managed and optimsied  cost effectively.
• Return on investment might be difficult to measure; however we believe that Express might integrate with Google Analytics at some stage and hence visibilities on your returns are enhanced.

If you would like to receive an update on when Ad Words Express will be launched in Australia please leave a comment or subscribe to our Facebook page. For more information on AdWords Express you can also contact one of Netstarter’s Digital Consultants.