Google Adwords Phone Ads Next?
Sep 24, 2007 Google Adwords
As search marketers, we realize that many normal folk never realize a lot of their personal information is tracked on a daily basis. Google eavesdrops into Gmail accounts, third party cookies, scans your hard drive with Google Desktop and monitors your interests in iGoogle - all to serve up relevant ads. An interesting article caught my eye in the New York Times, saying a company is close to monitoring calls for advertising insertions. How much would you wager that Google hasn’t already considered this as a possibility?
Google’s already shown interest in the mobile phone market, with the likely release of the Gphone being rumored on an increasing basis in the Blogosphere. The evidence is there that Google is ramping up for something big: buying and registering wireless spectrum across North America, laying multi-terabit cables across the Pacific Ocean, developing Adwords Mobile, and working to increase content available in Google Maps/Local Business Listings.
Monitoring our phone conversations is more or less a likely next step. Programs such as PagePass and the Labatt Blue Line here in Canada were a huge marketing success in previous years. The premise is simple, your long distance telephone call in Canada and the US is free, if you are willing to listen to a short 15-30 second advertisement. It’s tough to argue that approach, especially since the Blue Line was also accessible to overcharged cell phone users.
How might Google Adwords Phone Ads work?
- You make a free call on your land line or cell phone to a friend, and the majority of your conversation centers around your big baseball semifinal match, and how your Toyota Tercel is going in for repair again.
- After hanging up with your buddy, Google serves up a few display ads for local businesses specializing in baseball equipment, used car sales, and tacos (you did say you wanted to win the whole enchilada, right?).
- If your call was long distance, you may be hit up with a short audio clip the next time you want to make a call, or possibly a SMS text related to your previous conversation.
- At the end of the month, instead of getting an invoice for air time, you’ll get a notice in the mail about other programs you can sign up to in order to receive up to the minute news, weather, and traffic reports. Ad-subsidized features, of course.
Personally, I’d sign up for that on a moment’s notice. Any chance you guys at Google can bring me on as a Beta tester?
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