Google Adwords making online advertising easier for local businesses.
Google Adwords is now testing a simple, flat rate advertising option for local businesses. Local businesses pay a flat monthly fee for their ads instead of dealing with keyword auctions.
Why? Google Adwords is complicated if you’re not an experienced user. And many small business owners aren’t experienced Adwords users, let alone experienced internet users. Here’s a quote from Google VP of product management Susan Wojcicki in AdAge:
“When we talk to small businesses, they don’t always want to know what an auction is, how to create an ad, or bid on keywords, it’s complicated, so our goal has been to, ‘How can we make this really simple for them where they just pay a flat fee per month'”.
I call this the “eBay problem”. When eBay first came out, it was a nifty auction site. But then it got very complicated, both for buyers and sellers. People like simplicity, and eBay is anything but simple. Over time, people decided they didn’t want to deal with auctions and wanted simple, instant gratification. Hence eBay’s move to fixed price sales. When I buy on eBay now, I don’t even look at the auction tab. I just use BuyItNow. It’s simple, I get what I want now, and I don’t have to deal with the auction process.
Google is effectively creating a two-tier system similar to eBay. There’s the advanced option for people who really want to get the most out of Adwords, and then the fixed option for those that don’t have the time or interest in running up the learning curve.
This is a trend I’ve noticed over the past few years: A move away from complicated, all-inclusive systems and a market niche for simple, just-get-it-done technology. There’s a big business opportunity here.
Colin Pape - ShopCity.com says
I couldn’t agree more… 🙂
Steve M says
This is a wise move on G’s part; and frankly long overdue…
That said (and they’ve just got to be aware of this; even if they don’t speak publicly to it); there are still two very big problems to solve:
#1. Companies are going to want to actually be able to SEE their ads with their own eyes.
Being told, “Trust us; we’re doing this, and that, and this for your $/mo” will not be enough to bring in the kind of % of the SMB marketplace they’re looking for.
When SMBs buy YP ads, they can SEE the ad.
When they buy a newspaper, magazine, direct mail ad, they can SEE the ad.
When they buy TV and/or radio ads, they can SEE and/or HEAR their ads.
They see and hear what they’re paying for.
With PPC ads? Good luck with that.
#2. Just like more and more of the big entities out there, they’re going to want to know what their ROI is.
“How much business is my $/mo bringing me in new sales/profits?”
Prediction: They’ll initially sign up 20-40% more new customers than they are now with this $/mo plan … and lose 50% or more of them within the first year.