The AdWords team has created a simplified version of the advertising service called AdWords Starter Edition aimed at its newest users who wish to create a single campaign easily; this may be part of Google’s focus on the growing local search market.
One text ad, one campaign, one signup form. Done. That’s the latest development in the search advertising company’s arsenal, where ease of use could lead those newest customers into trying the Standard AdWords advertising options with Google.
The AdWords Starter Edition provides limited targeting for the text ads created by its new users. That basic targeting permits the advertiser to focus on one specific location, like a country or a single city.
Once the ad has been created, with keywords selected, and the account activated, Google gets the ad in front of an audience. Then, Google provides some sophisticated handholding to assist advertisers in gaining the best benefit from their spends:
The user’s account page is also simplified, showing key information for each keyword and allowing simple changes to the ad and the account. The Google Budget Optimizer automatically determines when to show your ad to earn the most clicks possible within your monthly budget.
Let’s go back to basic targeting for a moment. With Google and its search competitors at Yahoo, Microsoft, and the various yellow pages and other local search portals all playing for a multi-billion dollar market, getting a true small business to buy into online advertising has to present as few barriers to entry as possible.
Those small business owners tend to be hands-on people with little time for divining the secrets of a richer online advertising solution like AdWords in its Standard Edition form. The Starter edition’s tight focus on getting the ad done on one page could be the deal maker.
There is another reason to believe the Starter edition is a building block for Google’s local search future. JenSense’s eponymous blogger posted about invitations sent to Google Advertising Professionals to become Google AdWords Seminar Leaders.
Those Seminar Leaders would give day-long sessions throughout the US about AdWords. Add the Starter edition of AdWords to the mix, and use Google’s incredible brand recognition to help sell seminar attendees on contextual advertising; that could be the push Google uses to bring aboard lots of small local advertisers and grow its revenue stream by volume in the manner of a Wal-Mart.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
