Google News: Google Expands Print Ad Program

Google said that it has widely expanded its pilot program to sell advertising within major newspapers across the U.S., as the search leader now boasts of relationships with more than 225 newspapers, up from 50 when the program kicked off last November.The company said the Google Print Ads now can deliver advertisers entry into 32 or the top 35 DMAs, reaching a total circulation of nearly 30 million readers.

To date, many of the biggest companies in the newspaper world have signed on to participate in the program, including E.W. Scripps, Hearst Newspapers, Gannett, The New York Times, Tribune Publishing, and the Washington Post.Like Google’s AdWords platform, advertisers large and small can bid for ad placement in print via Google Print Ads using an automated Web-based interface, where brands can conduct both local and national ad buys. The benefit to newspapers, according to Google, is that many smaller or non-traditional newspaper advertisers can gain easy access to the medium through the product, which is open to hundreds of thousands of the company’s existing client base.That’s exactly what is happening, according to several newspaper executives. "Google Print Ads has brought in new advertisers who were either too small to consider advertising in a national newspaper or who hadn't tried print advertising because their business was largely online said Todd Haskell, vp of business development, advertising, The New York Times. “And Google Print Ads gives us the flexibility and control to set our own pricing, so there is never a conflict."

Source: www.Mediaweek.com - Author Mike Sheilds