Google's offer to buy Groupon may have been rejected, but it's become increasingly clear in recent months that this doesn't mean the company is backing away from the local ad market. Mashable broke the news today that the search company is planning to launch Google Offers, and this could prove major competition for leading deal-finders.
Mashable received an exclusive fact sheet from insiders at Google. The document explains, "Google Offers is a new product to help potential customers and clientele find great deals in their area through a daily email." Thus, Google Offers will operate much like Groupon and rising competitor LivingSocial (which Brafton reported generated significant buzz for an Amazon deal earlier this week).
Google told the source it is contacting small businesses to enlist Google Offers participants. This seems to fit with Brafton's previous report that Google was literally calling small business owners to find support for its local ad offerings.
The company is pitching the platform to advertising partners as a chance to boost brand awareness among local consumers, while gaining exposure in Google’s ad networks at "no additional cost."
This might appeal to marketers in light of yesterday's revenue report from the company indicating that Google's advertising networks brought in significant funds for the company and ad partners last quarter. Google sites and the sites of AdSense partners saw an 18 percent annual increase in revenue and 11 percent quarter-over-quarter gains during Q4 2010.
