Google pay per call

Google Dips Toe In Pay-Per-Call

GOOGLE THIS WEEK BEGAN TESTING pay-per-call ads, in which users can click to be connected to a merchant or service provider via telephone. In Google’s model, users click on an icon of a phone, and then enter their own phone numbers, after which Google calls the users and then connects them with marketers.

Its what SMLXL might describe as connectivity and flowability combining with ’search’. Where, ‘just in time’ replaces ‘just in case’. Where, richness and reach come together in a very poerful combination. So, where does yellow pages figure in all of this?

Google’s entry into pay-per-call could create momentum for the nascent market, said Kelsey Group Analyst Greg Sterling. “It’s another indication that calls are going to be pervasive as an offering side-by-side with clicks,” he said. “If Google adopts [pay-per-call] and Yahoo! adopts it, then obviously that’s a huge potential marketplace opening up, and advertisers will adopt it.”

He added that the move could contribute to Google’s continued growth. “The margins you can get for a call are much higher than those you can get for a click, and certain advertisers are willing to pay that premium.”

Marc Barach, chief marketing officer of major pay-per-call company Ingenio, agreed that Google’s entrance was good for the market. “In the big picture, I think that greater adoption is good for the entire industry–pay-per-call is a nascent industry; there are only a few players,” he said. “To get a player like Google–that’s fabulous.”

Barach added that Google’s interest in the pay-per-call model shows that phone contact is becoming integral to e-commerce. “What’s interesting about this is that it’s further proof that voice is a fundamental part of e-commerce,” he said. “The fact that most of the major companies–Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft–have all started to move into the VoIP arena [shows] the writing’s on the wall.”

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