While Google+ doesn’t have ads, it does have posts. Recent news suggests that rather than add banner ads or other annoying sales tactics, Google is simply going to make posts on Google+ ads for some pages. This could mean a radically different experience for users across the service.
The ads were launched in beta late last year to a limited number of advertisers. Basically, Google essentially takes a Google+ post and uses it across their two million sites available in the Google Display Network. It would be like the pop-up video you try to delete as soon as possible being a Google+ post, in which you could natively interact. You cold even schedule to attend a Hangout on Air.
The changes are good for any page that has over 1,000 followers, but doesn’t stop with ads. Those pages can also sign up for automatic post promotion, which is a way of monetizing Google+ posts: Google collects when you and I engage with a brand on a promoted post. Google says the moves are to “create compelling ad experiences and make it easier to extend the reach of [their] social content”.
It’s a sneaky way to keep the service “ad free”, but also may cheapen the experience for some. Monetizing the post itself is a move we saw Facebook make recently, with some complaining that the company was simply charging for what was already free. The same can be said here, so it will be interesting to see if brands give Google a pass on this.
Via: The Next Web
