Dive Brief:
- Google announced Tuesday that it will introduce new local search advertisements within its Maps application as it looks to reach customers in a "mobile-first world."
- Promoted ads will appear first in search results when customers look for generic locations like "coffee shop" or "pharmacy" in Maps.
- Google is also experimenting with promoted pins, which would be added to maps and could show up in users' driving or walking routes.
Dive Insight:
Google provided a range of compelling numbers in the blog post promoting its mobile advertising focus. Half of the trillion searches Google sees globally come from mobile each year; location-related searches on mobile are growing 50% faster than all mobile searches; and nearly one-third of mobile searches are related to location.
Given this skyrocketing mobile growth, especially when it comes to location-based searches, these new tools may be helpful for retailers looking to convert mobile browsing into brick-and-mortar sales. Google demonstrated how the promoted pins may look for retailers in the image below, which also shows how retailers could use the ads to provide additional offers to lure consumers into their stores.
Along with these new ads, Google also updated the look of its business pages in the Maps app. The pages currently offer information about store hours and its address; Google said that the revamped pages will soon be able to also display special offers and the ability to check in-store inventory. That last feature is key to retailers in an age when customers expect to seamlessly browse in-store and online inventory on multiple channels.
These new features could also help retailers solve the issue of mobile commerce conversion. According to a report released by Forrester Research in October last year, one-third of online retail traffic comes from mobile phones, but still accounts for only 11% of e-commerce sales.
Experts have pointed out multiple reasons for this discrepancy, including cybersecurity concerns amongst U.S. shoppers and the cumbersome experience of entering credit card information during checkout on mobile phones. With Google's new tools, retailers can capitalize on surging online retail traffic while still driving customers to their brick-and-mortar stores.