31 December 2007

Google 'to move into newspaper advertising in UK'

Google is currently in talks with a number of UK newspaper publishers to sell advertising space in their publications to its online clients, it has been reported.

Called Google Print Ads, the service is an extension of AdWords and it was launched in the US earlier this year.

In the country, there are now more than 600 participating newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post and Freedom Communications.

Under the service, advertising customers say what they are prepared to pay - rather than necessarily offering to put forth the list price - and publishers can choose to either accept or decline the offer.

Google then takes a share of the advertising revenue for each deal struck.

According to a British newspaper boss, the introduction of the service to the UK "is an interesting development, with the prospect of bringing new advertisers into our newspapers", the Sunday Times reports.

"If advertisers find it to be an effective channel, then there is the prospect to form direct relationships on a more normal basis," the executive added.

Meanwhile, Phil Stokes, leader of the entertainment and media practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, stated: "We can foresee newspaper groups participating in online exchanges for print advertising in the near future, but consider it unlikely that the larger players will automatically gravitate towards a large specialist third-party online provider without looking for other solutions first."

The Print Ad service may, however, prove a hit with operators such as plumbers and electricians who have not advertised in newspapers before because they thought they would be priced out, according to the Sunday Times.

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