The SERPzone

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Google is in the middle of a closed beta for one of its newest programs called Gadget Ads. These act like “websites within a website” that are interactive with a couple mini-pages, games, and other interactives. I suspect that these are designed to try and get users of social media sites like MySpace to finally start interacting with ads, which owner Newscorp hasn’t been able to do very well. Likewise, Google has had a difficult time getting viewers of the popular video sharing site YouTube to do anything with the ads.

What’s interesting is these gadgets have the ability to be added into one’s iGoogle page or Google reader. If the advertiser can make an interactive ad that is appealing enough for a user to include on his/her own shared iGoogle or reader page, it has the possibility of going viral. What’s even more interesting is how we as PPC advertisers can find ways of using these ads beyond simple branding and basic interactions.

According to Google’s micro-site, gadget ads have the ability to support some basic shopping functions, which would allow you to bypass specific pages of your site to expedite the shopping process. For example, if you wanted to include a popular product right within the ad, a Google checkout user could possibly purchase this product with very few clicks, possibly without ever leaving the site they saw the ad on. It would be like a kiosk of your store in someone else’s shop.

The reporting of interaction can get very confusing. Any interaction with the ads such as mouse-overs, internal clicks, typing in data or playing a video is reportable, but not charged separately. Google will be charging will still be charging by CPM or CPC, like it does with all of its content network ads. CPC is definately the way to go in this game, because a click is only recorded if the user clicks through the ad to your landing page.

Gadget Ads can also incorporate data from Google maps, YouTube videos, or other Google Gadgets that are available for iGoogle and Google Reader. After reviewing the gallery of existing gadget ads and playing some of the games, I have to say I see potential in this model in getting people to interact more with the product/service that the ad will sell. However, it doesn’t have the appeal that normal Search ads have, for two main reasons:

1. Gadget Ads are Still “Push” Driven Instead of “Pull” Driven - No matter how fun the game may be, or how cool the graphics are, these type of graphical ads will lay on the content network, where people will typically stumble upon them while doing something else. This is a form of “push marketing” where the advertiser finds the viewer and tries to entice them. Search, on the other hand, is a form of “pull marketing”, which is demand driven by the viewer who tells a medium (i.e. Google) exactly what s/he wants to know about. If I want to learn more about a car or a vacation getaway, I’m much more likely to interact with an ad compared to when I’m on Business Week reading an article about the travel industry. It’s a completely different mindset!
2. It’s Not as Simple - Search ads are fast and easy to set up. Within 5 minutes of opening an account on Google an advertiser can pick a handful of words and write an ad, only to instantly see the fruits of their short labor on the SERPs. These gadget ads require time to plan, skill to code, and a lot of advanced knowledge of who will interact and benefit from the ad.

Like all online marketing, there needs to be a balance. Search can provide the necessary data and research to better target a gadget or other form of display advertising.
On the other hand, gadget advertising may open doors to an audience that was originally not considered when starting a search campaign. Either way, this is yet another form of Google advertising that I’ll be keeping my eye on and playing with as soon as I can. If you happen to be in this beta and can share some experiences and results, I would love to hear from you!

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Tags: adwords, google //