We all know that Google wants to join the local advertising ring. Google have decided to create Google Offers. It’s very similar to Groupon which isn’t surprising since their massive offer to Groupon was declined last year. Google has also been pushing new features in Adwords and Places and is pitching to local businesses to get a slice of the business pie. Google’s newest feature is called Google Adwords Express. It is similar to Adwords, but it is targeted to local, smaller businesses in a slimmed-down version.
Instead of having to set up a full campaign in Google Adwords the Express option allows smaller businesses to set up a simpler, faster version that doesn’t require as much learning/training. This is for smaller businesses that are perhaps not as much technically minder as the larger corporations. It still allows them to access Google Maps but better still it offers automatic management. Google will manage the campaign after simplifying the process for users on the back-end.
Google have been testing Google Adwords Express since October in several phases, however, then it was known as Google Boost. Google decided to change the name to reflect the ties to the main Adwords product. This renaming seems to be a trend in the fact that Google is consolidating its brand.
Google have now refined the process and apparently ads can now be set up in about five minutes. Originally, you needed a Google Places page in order to set up these ads; however, Google have updated this so that businesses no longer need to verify their Places page in order to set up the ads. You can then link the ads to your Places page or your website.