Google Local Listing Ads and The Death of IYP Advertising

Local Listing Ads provide you with:

• Ads shown on Google.com and Google Maps
• A flat monthly fee based on your location and business category
• First 30 days free
• No bid or keyword management
• Free call-tracking, announcing each forwarded customer call (‘This caller brought to you by Google’)
• Full report on the number of calls, clicks to your ad, requests for driving directions, and clicks to your info window on Google Maps
• The option to cancel your ad at any time

The Threat to IYP Advertising & Other Local Advertising

Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) type sites have lost a ton of market share to the search engines with the advent of local search results being integrated into universal search. The erosion of users visiting these sites to obtain local business and service data will continue with a steady pace, but the real effects will be accelerated on the advertiser’s side. Major IYP publishers in Canada are currently in the process of making the premium ad spots even more expensive than they used to be last year, while offering advertisers a very vague picture of both the cost and ROI related to these investments. It’s easy to see how advertisers are ready to cut their investments not only in print directories, but also in the IYP space, hence migrating dollars to search engines in the process.

Local Listing Ads are bound to be a boon to SMB’s despite concerns related to placement, ranking factors, and costs relative to an SMB’s service areas and operating industry. The availability of free call tracking is just another way Google is bringing back its old news paper and radio advertising solutions granular call tracking, which again solidifies the benefits of investing in search. This is an opportunity that most IYP’s have long ignored, because despite doing measured ad studies for research purposes, none to my knowledge have ever packaged call tracking as part of their service offerings.

Lucky 7 Pack Results and Shaking up Local SEO Providers

I speculate that the change to the 7 pack from the 10 pack results has been made to make room for the local listing ads.  For SMB’s that have lost positioning due to this shift, it’s time to either optimize your listings further yourself, contacting your SEO company, or getting in touch with someone like myself. You can find a list of trusted local search consultants here.

Customer Service or the Lack Thereof

Google’s lack of customer service has long been a sore point and often a dealer breaker for SMB’s. The gap in the market for utilizing Google services and the support available to guide SMB’s in properly using them has created a huge market for training, support, and management for resellers, SEO companies and consultants alike. The new local listing ads FAQ does state that you as a business owner will get better support, albeit, still devoid of any human touch. I’ll be keeping a close eye on the evolution of local listing ads here in Canada, although something tells me that we’ll still have to wait till end of Q1 in 2010 for that to happen. On a side note, I’m personally a little irked by the folks at Mountainview for rolling out the LBC’s ehanced reporting dashboard to Europe and India, leaving Canadians with nothing more than a longing for the data that our counterparts south of the border have been enjoying for a couple of months now.

Further Reading:

David Mihm: My Thoughts on Google Local Listing Ads
Greg Sterling: Local Listing Ads and 7-Pack Live
Mike Blumenthal: Google Local Listing Ads: Random Thoughts
Mike Blumenthal: Google Answers Some Local Listing Ad Questions

Greg Sterling:More Info on Google Local Listing Ads

Taylor Cimala: Google to Start Offering Flat Rate Local Listing Ads
Learmonth/AdAge: Google Lures Local Advertisers by Subverting Its Own Search Policies
Mike B: Support to Be Available to Local Listing Ad Customers

Greg Sterling: Google Offers New ‘Simple’ Ads for SMBs
MB: Google Intros Local Listing Ads to LBC in Limited Markets

Greg Sterling (SEL): Google Creates A New, Simplified Ad Unit For Local Business

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