What are Store Locator Ads?
Google store locator ads is a beta opportunity for marketers, in which local paid search ads are shown with a plus box extension. When the plus box is expanded a listing of all nearby brick and mortar store locations are shown on the map along with their addresses and directions. Users also have the ability to enter in a specific address in the search locator box to further determine which location is most convenient.
How Do Store Locator Ads Work?
In order to appear in the store locator ads, your paid search ads must appear in first position and have listings in Google Maps and Local Business Center. Google pulls information from these properties for the store locator ads.
The pricing model is identical to any paid search campaign. Please note that there is not a CPC charge on expansion of the plus box or click through of any other links aside from the headline. Currently, estimates on traffic volume are not available.
Advantages of Store Locator Ads
Obviously, driving traffic to your brick and mortar stores can increase sales revenue, but the store locator ads also help qualify valuable traffic to your website. For example, if users are looking for store locations, directions, etc, they can get all of that information from the store locator ad without having to click through the paid search ad, which also saves you a CPC charge. Furthermore, the visual appeal of the plus box helps your ad stick out within noisy SERP environment.
Disadvantages of Store Locator Ads
If your campaign goals are solely to send traffic volume to a website, then the other ad features and options can draw away traffic from the click through action to the website, and as a result potentially decrease overall traffic volume. Additionally, increasing CPCs to participate could potentially increase overall cost of the campaign and drive down ROI. Finally, as stated earlier, existing paid search ads must be in the top position in order to appear with the appendix.
Recommendation
We suggest our retail clients who have brick and mortar stores try conducting a test using store locator ads. However, since the product is still in beta, traffic volume for this opportunity will not be shown separately. Subsequently, a better measure for the test would be using a time period rather than volume.
