Google Beta Tests New Ad Program

The Google Affiliate Network Product Ads Beta Program lets participants promote products to users actively searching for products and requires them to pay only when users make a purchase on the site, according to a post on Blogoscoped.com.

"Google product ads will feature product-specific information directly in the ad such as price and product image," the article stated. "During the beta program, Google will be testing to identify the most effective ad formats."

With ever-evolving set-top box technology, it is not too much of a stretch to apply the idea behind the Google Affiliate Network Product Ads Beta Program to television advertising. Advertisers would get a 15-second ad for a nominal price. Viewers would have the option of selecting an on-screen option "for more information." If that selection is made, the advertiser pays more. And, eventually, all those Billy Mays commercial broadcasts could let the viewer truly "buy now," similar to how viewers purchase on-demand programming. If the product is ultimately purchased, the advertiser pays more than another, less successful, sponsor.

With the current Google trial, product ads will appear as a "Sponsored Link" on the page. According to an anonymously forwarded e-mail from Google to Blogoscoped, a variety of prominent placements and additional display options will be used to optimize and drive targeted traffic to those ads. Product listings that appear in the search results will continue to be free.