Google AdWords has just launced a new feature of AdWords called "AdWords Comparison Ads". For the full features, you'll have to check out Google's Inside AdWords Blog post.
What are AdWords Comparison Ads?
How AdWords Works Now
The way that AdWords currently works is as follows:
1) A user goes to Google and types a search term like "mortgage"
2) Google provides results which includes ads provided by mortgage companies.
As you can see below, this is a typical sponsored ads section. Sponsors have created their own ads and have bid accordingly. Google then orders the ads based on their bid price and quality score.
Typical Paid Search Result for a Search on "mortgage"
How AdWords Comparison Ads Work
For some queries, Google will actually provide a much different result set than just the traditional AdWords ads. In the example screenshot below (from the Google blog post) the new comparison ads are shown.
Paid Search Results with AdWords Comparison Ads
Searchers See Side By Side Quotes and Can Click the Button for a Detailed Comparison
If a website searcher clicks on the "Compare Rates" button, a detailed side by side comparison is presented (below) which provides the visitor with a lot of information and the ability to contact one of the companies directly.
Paid Search Results with AdWords Comparison Ads
Searchers See Side By Side Quotes and Can Click the Button for a Detailed Comparison
Why is Google Introducing Comparison Ads?
Google states that Comparison Ads are being introduced in an effort to provide more relevant and easy to use results to the end user. This makes sense, as the goal of all search engines is to keep visitors coming back - and to do this, they need to provide useful, relevant results. Comparison Ads may also be a response to Bing's effort as a "decision engine" to provide relevant results to website visitors - especially when making shopping decisions.
Which Denver Advertisers Need to be Concerned About Comparison Ads?
Mortgage and Refinancing
If you're in the mortgage/refinance space you'll want to pay attention to how this limited test goes. When typing in "mortgage" in Denver, I don't see the comparison ads yet. That will change. Google promises to expand this limited geographical implementation of comparison ads to more advertisers and locations in the future.
Denver Insurance Agents Should Pay Attention
If I was a Denver insurance agent, I'd also want to keep a close eye on comparison ads and be ready to participate. It is easy to see how these comparison ads could be used to put insurers side by side for easy rate comparison. Any big ticket services that require close interaction between the consumer and the service provider would probably be good candidates for AdWords Comparison Ads.
Denver Retailers?
Less likely, but still a possibility would be large ticket retail items. According to this AdWords Ad Comparison Interview between Danny Sullivan of Searchengineland.com and Nick Fox of Google, ads are being offered to advertisers on a cost per lead basis. It is hard to see retail ads working on a cost per lead basis. That said, it is always possible Google could introduce a different pricing model for big ticket retailers.
How Does this Help Me Market My Denver Small Business?
For most Denver small businesses, Adwords comparison ads likely aren't going to be much of an issue. If you are involved in the mortgage industry, you'll want to explore comparison ads as soon as they become available. Denver metro insurance agents also stand a good chance to be affected by AdWords comparison ads in the near future.