{"id":56506,"date":"2020-07-16T17:00:59","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T05:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pureseotest.wpengine.com\/?p=56506"},"modified":"2020-07-17T08:58:50","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T20:58:50","slug":"google-trials-local-ads-on-google-my-business-listings-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pureseo.com\/gb\/blog\/google-trials-local-ads-on-google-my-business-listings-again","title":{"rendered":"Google Trials Local Ads on Google My Business Listings… Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s long been the burden of small businesses to find a way through the fog of the internet to their customers, to do their best with what they have and raise their voices above the cacophony of others singing for the user\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital marketing<\/a><\/strong> is like tuning your instrument, allowing it to project louder and more sweetly than any other in the orchestra. However, most smaller businesses simply don\u2019t have the budget at their disposal to play louder or to fine-tune. Publishing a local business profile is one of the ways small businesses join the fray, adding their voices to the symphony of search-and-find that is business on the Internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what happens when the Conductor starts doing their own thing? What happens when Google starts testing a \u201cpilot program\u201d that puts third party ads on small businesses\u2019 business listings? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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What is Google doing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Google is wont to do, the company is running tests on features we may see in the future. One of those tests has caused some alarm among SEO professionals and small businesses alike: Google is testing ads on local business profiles.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re experiencing some d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, then you\u2019ve got a good memory! Google has been conducting tests like this since 2017, when they began trialling ads that could appear on a business rival\u2019s GMB listing as part of the Local Campaigns feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google came back in 2019 with another trial of the same feature, using Local Campaigns as the ads\u2019 vehicle and utilising the real estate offered by GMB listings to host competitor ads. They also came out with a survey that asked whether business owners would like to get leads from competitor profiles, and if they would like a feature that removed ads from their busines listings (ala Yelp<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Internet giant was decried following both trials, with some SEOs saying they were an example of over-monetisation at the victim of businesses. So, what\u2019s changed? Why is the trial back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The more things change, the more they stay the same.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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SOURCE: SEARCH ENGINE LAND & TIM CAPPER<\/a> TWITTER<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When the infamous Bon Jovi sang that line, he really knew what he was talking about. He most likely didn\u2019t think it would apply to the analysis of Google Ads<\/a><\/strong> in the year 2020, but I digress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google has changed its approach to third-party advertising on GMB listings, trying to make the concept more palatable for business owners while still reaping the rewards of the potential ad real estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s discuss what the features of this new whitelisted pilot program are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n