Google recently announced that they would now display Adwords ads with Local extensions with an associated push pin and a place the Map.
The display format of the ad is very similar but not the same as a Boost ad. There are two differences: On an Adwords ad, the title of the ad can be anything not just the business name and the push pin contains a letter not just a dot.
Click to view larger with the Map:
Not a bad idea to offer in both places. They can test profitability of each and also have local seo’s and ppc companies push small biz accounts.
Comment by Mike Ramsey (93 comments) — February 15, 2011 @ 1:27 pm
I think the following is true?
If your running Adwords & Boost. Both ads will not display at same time. I.E. 2 positions on one search page
The big difference between blue balloons: Adwords balloon typical will display for specific town only. Boost balloon will display for entire geographical area that’s set in Google Place account I.E. 20 mile radius
Comment by nanomano (7 comments) — February 15, 2011 @ 2:58 pm
You had some terrific commentary a while back as to experiences with boost ads.
Anyone want to update on how boost ads are running vis a vis adwords?
Comment by earlpearl (784 comments) — February 15, 2011 @ 4:55 pm
Good post, it will be good to know which ads are from Boost and which are coming from Adwords. Thanks.
Comment by Ryan (19 comments) — February 15, 2011 @ 6:45 pm
Great post. I am also noticing some red balloons with the dot in the middle and the link below the Place Name goes to their Place Page. I am guessing that is Boost as well.
Comment by John (52 comments) — February 16, 2011 @ 9:41 am
@John
Do you have a screenshot?
Comment by Mike (2500 comments) — February 16, 2011 @ 10:59 am
@Mike
I will email you two screenshots. One with Red balloon with black dot and another with red circle and black dot. Plus, I am seeing a lot of geo-targeting keywords stuffed in Place Name instead of biz name, which is a no-no per Google Place’s rules.
Comment by John (52 comments) — February 16, 2011 @ 11:47 am
@John
There is much that is a no-no by Google’s rules, yet as with the laws of the land, enforcement is selective.
Comment by Ken Lewis (1 comments) — February 17, 2011 @ 4:31 am
A couple of questions:
- can a boost ad direct traffic to a specific page on the target site? Or only the home page? (Or, worse, only the Places page?)
- is a Boost ad as expensive as the adwords equivalent?
Comment by Tom (15 comments) — February 17, 2011 @ 2:57 pm
Does anyone know the relative merits of initiating a Boost campaign in concert with a well optimized Adwords campaign? I know that two ads will not show on the same page, and it seems like a well thought out Adwords campaign should obviate the need for Boost. On the other hand, it may be worth it for the Maps exposure if Boost will enhance the Maps presence in a larger geographic service area. Also, unlike Places, does it integrate into Analytics for accurate measurement? I’d like to hear any actual experiences. Thanks.
Comment by David Rubin (13 comments) — February 17, 2011 @ 11:31 pm
I had one of our techs tell our sales person about Boost. Looks exactly the same to me. Boost looks like AdWords for Dummies to me, just runs on the categories listed from the Places account, CPC seems about the same as what we pay in AdWords.
Does anyone have any info about the CTR of Boost v. Extensions?
Comment by Kyle Alm (8 comments) — June 16, 2011 @ 3:04 pm