Google AdWords is testing the inclusion of local addresses in their pay per click ads. So far, Screenwerk, SERoundtable, Vertical Leap, and Blumenthals have all reported on it.
Blumenthals provided an acknowledgment from Google stating that it was an experiment, though the blog didn’t say where the acknowledgment came from. It likely came from an e-mail query. Nevertheless, here is what Google said:
The address in the ad is actually something that we are currently testing with a small set of advertisers.
That’s just one line from the acknowledgment, but it’s pretty clear that the experiment was done. But was it successful? Will Google continue the practice in the future?
Matt Hopkins says local search will be the fastest growing area of search in the next year. I believe he may very well be right. That means local pay per click advertising will grow as well and those local businesses that learn how to make local pay per click work for them will be the benefactors of attracting new customers. I hope Google AdWords does roll out the address listing for local businesses in their PPC ads completely and fully. If local pay per click grows as some of us believe it will then that is a distinct possibility.
