Posted On 03/28/06
Contributed by Frances

By now you probably have heard the news about Google's latest enhancement to their local search function - the ability to add a sponsored link on local search tied to a location on the Google Earth map.

The sample for viewing the potential of this new offering is to go to Google Local and search for "booksellers nyc". Sure enough, up comes the map of the New York City area with the usual balloons marking the spots of booksellers, but wait ... what are those cups of coffee doing on the map? Well, those mark locations of Barnes and Noble and are the hallmark of the new sponsored listings offered for local search.

Although it's still fairly limited in scope, at first look, it seems a really cool way to extend your advertising spend into the increasingly popular Google Earth setup.

The more you investigate though, the more you see this offering needs to be enhanced if Google wants to make this an appealing new function. Granted, the cost-per-click is really cheap on these ads right now, but what do you get for what you pay?

If you click on the coffee icon, a balloon box appears with information about the Barnes and Noble location, with room for a logo, and an add that bears a close resemblance to the usual sponsored ad layout and look.

Sound familiar? That's because it is almost identical to the balloon box that comes up when you click on the regular location marker on Google Earth (the one you don't pay per click for, but rather is created from aggregate data that Google pulls from all sorts of sources). The only differences are no logo and no "come hither" description crafted by you to attract people to click your link on the map itself. Also, there is no option to click for directions to or from your location.

In fact, sometimes the non-paid link has a wealth of information that you could not possibly fit into the limitations of the sponsored link, depending upon the sources Googlebot has drawn info about you from.

Overall, it's a weak start to what could potentially be a strong selling point. Sure, the cost is low now because not many people have yet entered the PPC market for this type of sponsored link on Google, but how many advertisers are going to pay extra for the added value of a "cup of coffee"?