Which is The Right Advertising Solution- Google Places or AdWords Express or Google AdWords?

Soon after AdWords Express has come into being, I have been receiving numerous queries related to their similarities and subtle differences.

In this post of mine, I am writing about the basic differences among each of them and also times when shall one suit the best.

Let’s first discuss the differences between Google Places & AdWords Express (previously known as Google Boost):

•    Google Places is a FREE way to connect your business with your local customer. Google doesn’t accept payment to include particular listings or sites in its search results. However, AdWords Express (Google Boost) is a PAID program for local business promotion. You will be charged when someone click your ads.

•    Google places listings will appear as part of the organic results based on their relevance to the search terms entered, along with geographic distance (where indicated) and other factors. However, AdWords Express ad will be shown in the Ads section of search results pages—on the top or right hand side and in Google Maps.

•    Google Places listing will be marked with a red pin marker . However, AdWords Express ad will appear with a distinctive Blue pin .

•    According to the Google Places quality guidelines- you cannot include marketing taglines or extraneous keywords in your business name. However, in AdWords Express ads, you can change your ad titles from your business name to any message you’d like.

•    AdWords Express advertising option is available in USA, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the Netherlands. However, Google Places is available in many other countries as well (To see where Google Places is currently available, view the list of country locations from the drop-down menu in the upper right hand corner of your Google Places dashboard.)

Important Note: AdWords Express does not affect the ranking of free, organic business listings in any way. AdWords Express ads appear only in the sponsored ads section, so they do not affect how many or which businesses appear in the organic. If your business already appears in the organic results and you advertise with AdWords Express then your AdWords Express ad will appear in the sponsored ads section with a blue marker and the organic listing still appears (without any effect on ranking) with red marker pin.

So, if your business is already listing on Google Places (if not then you can list it for Free here) and ranking in top positions of organic search results than you can think of not paying for the same listing in sponsored section. However, if your Google Places listing is not ranking well in organic search results then AdWords Express can be a good choice for your local promotion to be listed on the top positions.

(Note: I will also share some tips on Google Places page optimization in my future posts which might be helpful for you to get top positions in organic search results.)

Now, let’s discuss the difference between Google AdWords & AdWords Express:

Both AdWords Express & AdWords location extensions are different methods of achieving the same result – an ad campaign that helps advertisers connect with their local customers.

•    The key difference is that AdWords Express automatically manages the ads for advertisers on an ongoing basis while AdWords offers more controls and options to advertisers who want to manage their campaigns themselves.

•    AdWords Express is designed for local business owners who want the quickest and easiest way to advertise their local business on Google and Google Maps. However, Google AdWords provides you with more advertising options and finer controls. You can setup campaigns in places outside your Google Places Listing area to get more reach for your business.

•    With AdWords, you can control keyword selection and bids, target both locally and nationally, get advanced reporting, and take advantage of different ad formats such as video, display on thousands of partner sites, and more. With AdWords, you can choose to run your ad during certain business days and hours, if you want. Ad scheduling also includes an advanced setting which lets you adjust pricing for your ads during certain time periods. There are several other advanced levels of functions available in AdWords like conversion optimizer, website optimizer etc. to name a few.

I have also received few queries about the AdWords Location Extension & AdWords Express. Some clients are already advertising their business locally using AdWords location extension and they wanted to know whether they should use AdWords Express instead? Now, the answer is:

Both AdWords Express & AdWords can be used to create online ads with local specific information attached to the ads. The ad format offered through AdWords Express is similar to Location Extensions format Google offer via the AdWords platform as well.

Location extensions provide advertisers with more options in how they want to manage the KWs, bids, multiple stores (if present) and placement. The feature is also available on mobile devices, select AFS (AdSense for Search) properties and soon on thousand of partner sites on the Google Display Network.

Note: Both AdWords and AdWords Express ads compete in same auction for ad placement with no special preference given to either. Only one ad will appear when triggered by a search query, just like any other campaign that you have in your AdWords account.

Conclusion

-    AdWords Express is for you if:

o    Your Free Google Places Listing is not ranking well for relevant geo searches.
o    You want to promote your business locally quickly & easily and don’t want to indulge yourself in on-going ad campaign management.

-   AdWords is for you if:

o    You want more reach, more advertising options, advanced features and finer controls

I hope this information helps you in finding the right advertising solution for you.

Please feel free to share your thoughts. Also, contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Tags: adwords express, Google AdWords, google boost, google places