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Google Gives Businesses Free Ads in Google Maps

From now until September 2020, Google is giving businesses the opportunity to promote themselves for free in Google Maps.

Google Ads is rolling out promoted pins to smart campaign advertisers and making them completely free to use for the next few months.

Through September 2020, smart campaign advertisers with a Google My Business listing will not be charged for clicks, calls, or sales generated from promoted pins.

Promoted pins help business stand out in Maps by highlighting specific services and unique offerings such pickup, delivery, curbside pickup, and more.


“Every month, over 1 billion people use Google Maps to see what’s around them, search for businesses, and find directions. Promoted pins on Google Maps help your business stand out during these moments by displaying a prominent, square-shaped Google Maps pin.”

Google is offering promoted pins for free in an effort to assist small businesses that are now in the process of reopening after lockdown.

Google has already started rolling out promoted pins to smart campaign advertisers with a Google My Business profile, and they will be fully available in the coming weeks.

Other New Features for Smart Campaigns

In addition to promoted pins, Google Ads is enhancing smart campaigns with the ability to sign up from any device, see results directly in Google Search, and control when ads are shown.

Sign up in the mobile app
Google Ads advertisers can now sign up for smart campaigns and run ads directly from the Google Ads mobile app.

Google has made the sign-up process faster and easier, saying advertisers can now get their smart campaigns up and running in as little as 15 minutes.

In-app signup is currently available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan, with more countries to follow.

This update is available in the Google Ads app for iOS and Android.

Monitor smart campaign performance in Google Search
Google Ads is making its reporting features more accessible by allowing advertisers to view their performance directly in search results.

“With a quick search, you can instantly see the status of your Smart campaigns, how they’re performing, and how your ads look to potential customers.”

To utilize this feature, simply search for “My Ads” or “Google Ads” while signed into the Google account you use for Google Ads.

This will be available to all Smart campaign advertisers in the coming weeks.

Control when ads are shown
Google Ads is giving small businesses running smart campaigns more control over keywords they want their ads to show up for.

This means ads have a greater potential to reach more of the right people while saving time in the process. Advertisers will also have the option to modify or remove keyword themes.

Keyword themes will be fully available to everyone using Smart campaigns in the coming weeks.

Source: Google Ads Help

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SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, ...

Google Gives Businesses Free Ads in Google Maps

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