Google Expands Print Advertising Program

July 19, 2007; 08:42 AM
Google announced on Wednesday the expansion of the size and the scope of its Google Print Ads™ advertising initiative. The program started in November 2006 with a test that included 50 newspapers and a small group of advertisers. Since then the program has grown to more than 225 newspapers representing 32 of the top 35 DMAs and a combined circulation of almost 30 million. Participating newspaper publishers include E.W. Scripps, Freedom Communications, Hearst Newspapers, GateHouse Media, Gannett, MediaNews Group, The New York Times, The Seattle Times Company, Tribune Publishing, and Washington Post among others. In addition, Google Print Ads is now available to hundreds of thousands of United States-based advertisers who currently have a Google AdWords™ account.

Google Print Ads enables agencies and advertisers of all sizes to easily plan and buy traditional newspaper media in both national and local newspapers within a single, web-enabled interface. The platform enables marketers to reach new audiences in ways that are relevant for newspaper readers and cost-efficient for advertisers and publishers. And newspaper publishers can increase their bottom line by adding new customers from Google’s network of advertisers, many of whom are new to newspaper advertising. Newspaper publishers will continue to work directly with their loyal base of advertising customers.

"We are always looking to extend our editorial products to new advertisers while also driving additional revenue to our business," said Todd Haskell, vice president of business development, advertising, The New York Times. "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. And Google Print Ads gives us the flexibility and control to set our own pricing, so there is never a conflict."

"Over the past months, we have worked closely with our newspaper partners to design our Print Ads program to meet their needs and the needs of marketers," said Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive officer. "Newspapers are an important source of information and a powerful communication tool. With Google Print Ads we will bring more advertisers to newspapers which will ultimately benefit readers, publishers and advertisers."

Google Print Ads
Google Print Ads (http://www.google.com/adwords/printads) is an extension of AdWords that is designed to bring new efficiency and accountability to the buying and selling of print media. Advertisers and agencies access Google Print Ads through the AdWords interface and interactively plan a targeted media buy-in up to hundreds of newspapers across the United States. Once they have identified target newspapers, they enter a bid for the available ad space and upload a creative. Newspaper publishers then view the bids, and either approve or reject them, with an option to provide direct feedback to the advertisers. Detailed reports and electronic tear-sheets provide accountability, and Google automates billing and payments for further transactional efficiency. By creating this dynamic and transparent two-way buying and selling process, Google Print Ads gives flexibility and control to both the publisher and the advertiser.

"Our website is an effective way to acquire new customers. By adding newspaper advertising to our online initiatives, overall impressions on purchased keywords increased 20% over the five day period immediately following the print run," said Simon McIver, director of marketing acquisition at Covad. "I am a big convert. Google Print Ads allows us to use newspaper advertising tactically to improve the return on our marketing dollars."

Google AdSense helps newspapers online
Google also announced today that it has renewed its agreement with Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive to deliver search results, search and contextually targeted advertising to Washingtonpost.com readers. Google’s AdSense™ service (http://www.google.com/adsense) allows newspaper publishers to easily and effectively monetize their websites by connecting them to Google’s network of hundreds of thousands of advertisers. With text, display and video formats, advertisers can communicate with potential customers in rich and dynamic ways and specifically target newspaper websites through the AdSense site targeting feature.

For more information on Google Print Ads please go to http://www.google.com/adwords/printads/.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.