Google Homes In On Small, Local Advertisers With New Analytics Tool
With more people using *Google* Maps for driving directions, glimpses of potential real estate (through Street View) and even restaurant reviews, it makes sense to try to drive as much revenue from that traffic as possible. So Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is launching a new analytics dashboard that gives small businesses a better read on their local search traffic details.
As Greg Sterling notes, experienced search marketers won’t be wowed by the local business center (LBC) dashboard — but for local businesses that are either managing a small AdWords account on their own (or not using paid search ads at all), the stats will offer great insight into where some of their in-store traffic is coming from, the kinds of searches shoppers are using to find them online (and possibly, the keywords they need to start running ads against).
The dashboard is free for any business owner that “claims” a listing in Google Maps (also free); they get access to impressions (meaning the number of times their business listing showed up as a search result during a given time period), actions (including whether people clicked through to the site or requested driving directions), the most frequently used keywords their shoppers use, and the zip codes they come from.
really really really BAD for reachlocal, yodle and clickable
Die reach local and your 40% margins you take from your clients!
Jenkins: This tool from Google is great, but I don't see how it is bad for Clickable. Here's why:
For small to midsize businesses that self-manage their online advertising, our Clickable Pro tool is a third-party independent tool, a trusted advisor, that drives profitability across all the major pay-per-click advertising networks.
Additionally, Clickable Platform is a white-labeled solution for marketing-services businesses to rapidly deploy large-scale online advertising programs to their local customers under their own brand. For example, Lexis Nexis and Franchise Company Solutions use Clickable to provide "set-and-forget" advertising solutions for their thousands of local customers.
Google's dashboard is a great new offering, and complementary, if anything.
I hit send to early…Importantly, this is a development working in concert with Clickable to solve the local market challenges. Regards.