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Reported By: Wall Street Journal
By RIVA RICHMOND
August 15, 2006; Page B2
Google Inc. plans to unveil today a free service that will let businesses offer printable coupons to consumers through Google Maps.
The Mountain View, Calif., Internet company hopes the move will help to increase the popularity of the localized search service and extend its reach among small businesses.
Revenue from the service will follow in coming months, when Google said it will enable advertisers that buy its keyword advertisements to drive search traffic directly to their coupon pages. Since the coupons will be hosted by Google Maps, they will be usable by small businesses with or without Web sites of their own.
Starting today, businesses that want to offer coupons will be able to go to the Local Business Center area of Maps — the place where businesses can provide up-to-date information about themselves — and enter information about their special offers and upload an image. The coupons can be printed out and then redeemed at stores, making them useful to small businesses that don’t have online stores.
“It’s completely free for the merchant and the user,” said Gokul Rajaram, director of product management at Google. “Whatever the [sales] conversion rate, it’s going to be a big win for the merchant.”
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