November 26, 2005 — In a further hint of its plans to integrate telephone service with its advertising platform, Internet search king Google is testing a service that connects consumers directly with advertisers by phone on the company’s dime.
The service, dubbed “Click-to-Call,” is the latest indication that Google is eyeing e-commerce.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced on the Web that a telephone icon began appearing next to some ads on Google’s pages.
JW: Despite these reports, our team could not confirm these “sightings” of a telephone icon. This is pure speculation at this time.
The reports also noted that Google had quietly posted a page on its Web site describing how the new service works.
JW: There is no mention of this page on Google’s official blog, on Matt Cutt’s blog or in Google’s Sitemap.
“When you click the phone icon, you can enter your phone number,” Google posted to its site. “Once you click ‘Connect For Free,’ Google calls the number you provided. When you pick up, you hear ringing on the other end as Google connects you to the other party.”
Until now, Google simply provided a link to an advertiser’s Web site. With Click-to-Call, in the time it takes a user to check out an advertiser’s Web site, a user can be on the phone with a sales representative. Click-to-Call is a variant of a growing number of so-called “pay-per-call” Web services.
One such service is Ingenio, which already provides a pay-per-call service to AOL.
Ingenio lets businesses post ads on the Web, but only pay for them when they receive phone calls from interested shoppers.
Greg Yardley who works for Root Markets, which provides a trading market for buyers and sellers of Internet advertising leads, first posted word of Google’s Click-to-Call service on his blog.
Yardley said that many advertisers, especially those offering complex services, such as mortgage refinancing, prefer to have customers on the phone rather than interact with them through the Web.
A Google spokesman said the company is conducting “a limited test of a pay-per-call model,” but declined to elaborate further.
JW: I am always skeptical when comments are made quoting “A Google Spokesman” without mentioning a name. Google is a public company and names are given during interviews.
This article was posted by the New York Post and written by Sam Gustin
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