The New York Times: These Battle Lines Are Drawn in Yellow
The NYT profiles small businesses using Google enhanced ads as an alternative to bidding high for ad words.
“JASON COWIE, the owner of Kingpinz Skateboard and Snowboard Shop in Houston, has done a pretty good job of getting his business noticed on the Web. Just type “skateboards in Houston” on a search engine, and his store will be among the first listed.
Now, for $25 a month, Google highlights his shop in search results.
But one of his sure-fire ways to drive Web visitors and foot traffic — buying search ads on Google — got to be pretty expensive. Mr. Cowie, whose shop is just 1,000 square feet, found himself bidding for placement against deep-pocketed national chains, and having to spend $1,500 to $2,000 a month just to keep up.”