Last year Google began a service ‘Print Ads’ to enable advertisers in the US to place advertisements in hundreds of US newspapers, via the Google AdWords system.

Google is currently in negotiations with several UK publications to scale out the service out here. Google takes a percentage of the advertising revenue for every ad placed - a middleman you could say.

Why the ‘real’ world?

Currently Google’s advertising platforms have concentrated on the online environment, so why make a move into the ‘real’ world? Well, most of the public do not have the capacity to take out an ad in a national newspaper. Google’s vision is to enable John the Plumber from Plumpton to place an ad, without going via the usual marketing/advertising moguls. It also means that the larger advertisers can try and squeeze a better deal by doing it online.

According to a British newspaper boss, the introduction of the service to the UK “is an interesting development, with the prospect of bringing new advertisers into our newspapers”, the Sunday Times reports.

“If advertisers find it to be an effective channel, then there is the prospect to form direct relationships on a more normal basis,” the executive added.

Click here to learn more about how Google AdWords Print Ads work.