Google is using its Google+ social network to create ads but not run them, the company announced on Monday.
The “+Post” ads will run on Google Display Network, which includes 2 million sites. The ads look just like Google Plus posts but appear outside the network. For example, if you’re in the market for a minivan, you might see a Toyota ad pop up on AutoTrader or another car enthusiast site. In that sense, the units behave much like Facebook’s promoted posts. The Google+ ads don’t include recommendations, though — only public posts from Google+ users. A comment from someone in one of your circle won’t jump to the top, like one in Facebook’s Sponsored Stories will do.
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In a post announcing the move, Eran Arkin, a product manager at Google, explained that Toyota USA, Ritz Crackers and Cadbury UK are testing the ad units. Social annotations on the ads increase the click-through rate, according to Arkin, who didn’t provide further details. He claims the ads get 50% higher “expansion rates” than average, referring to the frequency with which the reader hovers over an ad for more than two seconds to expand it. Of course, much of that could be attributed to the unit’s novelty.
Google plans to offer +Post ads to more advertisers next month. The video below shows how Toyota is using the ads to promote its new Corolla.
Despite the introduction of the unit, Google+ itself will remain ad-free. Though the lack of participation on Google’s social network has been a sore point for the company, the unit displays utility beyond drawing an audience for advertisers. A recent change in Google’s terms of service also paves the way for Sponsored Stories-type advertising.
In this light, +Post ads are Google’s latest hedge against new native advertising and socially enabled ad units from the likes of Facebook and Twitter.
While known for search advertising, Google is also No. 1 in display advertising in the United States. Google will earn $3.1 billion from its display ads this year, compared to Facebook’s $2.8 billion, according to eMarketer.
Source: Mashable
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