Google recently announced some upcoming new features for its AdWords local business ads with the goal of making it faster and easier for potential customers to find your business. The new changes will only affect local business ads that appear on Google Maps and will not affect general AdWords ads in any way.
The first new feature is an improved info window for each Google Maps ad. Each ad’s information window will now feature interactive links that will help users connect to your business more quickly. In the past, this info window would only take users to your business’ website, but now the links are much more interactive. Users will be able to use the info window to quickly get directions, see a street view of the address, and save the address to their “My Maps”. Google also announced that they intend to add the ability to send the information to the user’s phone or email.
The other major new announcement is that there will be a new interaction report for local business ads that will be available in the next few weeks. The report will be available through your account’s Report Center and will help businesses assess return on investment with local business ads by detailing how many users opened your info window and clicked on each of the new interactive links. These changes should be very positive for those using the local business ads function and the planned reporting features will help marketers be more effective in their use of AdWords.
