August 31, 2005

Google Selling Print Ads

About two years ago, I spoke with a Google executive about the idea that they might move into print ads. Rather than an outright rejection, I got an interested look and a "what do you think about that idea?" response. It was clear to me that the company had been pondering such a move. Google takes ad sales to print from News.com today looks at how this now appears to be happening.

Google's been buying pages in PC Magazine and other technology publications, then reselling those pages to advertisers already in its ad network. The article points at an online example here.

Not only doesn't the move surprise me, but I personally expect we'll see more of it. There's no reason why Google or Yahoo can't move some of their advertisers into the print world. Moreover, as I wrote in November, I'm still expecting we'll see something like a print yellow pages from one or both of these major players.

Want to comment or discuss? Visit our forum thread, Google Goes Into Print Ads.

Posted by Danny Sullivan at August 31, 2005 9:10 AM