by | Oct 8, 2014

If you own a B2C business with a physical store, you need to get ready for Google’s new type of ad: local inventory ads.

These ads will be a great way to drive nearby customers to your physical store location.

What Are Local Inventory Ads?

Local inventory ads will let users know that your store carries inventory in certain products – depending on what the person searched for. This new type of ad is enabled only when a user is within a certain distance of your store, maximizing its effectiveness.

The ad is similar to a standard product listing ad, with the price of the product, title, and an image. However, it also includes a store marker showing the user how far away they are from your location where the item is in stock.

If a lead clicks the ad, they arrive at a Google-hosted merchant page, complete with product information and a map to your store.

This type of ad is particularly useful if the searcher is using a mobile device, as they’re already on-the-go and will be more likely to visit your store location. Mobile search continues to grow, soon to surpass desktop search. You need to target mobile searchers with local, relevant information – this new type of ad will be one of the tools you can use to do that effectively. 

As of right now, local inventory ads are only available for certain Google customers in US, UK, DE, FR, JP, and AU. However, Google states that they will “be opening up the program to a wider set of merchants in the future.” It’s only a matter of time until these ads are available for Canadian businesses.

Get the jump on your competitors by familiarizing yourself with these new ads now; and be one of the first businesses in your area to implement them when they become available!

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