Google (almost) on the radio!

It’s (almost) official!

Has Google been reading my Digital Micro-Markets Blog countdown to Audio Ads?

Google acknowledges: 

There's been a lot of speculation about what we're doing in radio advertising so we thought we'd give you a quick update regarding what we've been working on since the acquisition of dMarc Broadcasting earlier this year.

What is the update? A Google product, beta or test?

A beta test of a product!

Google Audio Ads is an extension of the AdWords platform, allowing advertisers to create and manage radio advertising campaigns using AdWords' powerful online interface. Audio Ads offers detailed reporting, targeting by demographic, location, and station type, and provides easy access to the huge market reached by radio programming. Using the reports in your AdWords account, you'll be able to see how much you're spending, where your ad is playing and when, and even listen to a recording of your ad as it was played on the radio! 

Google is happily “bringing radio advertising to Google advertisers,” but not its complete signature turnkey self-service, apparently:

The radio ad that you'll use for Audio Ads should be an MP3 file, 30 seconds in length (there are additional format guidelines). Because many AdWords advertisers are new to radio advertising...specialists can help with each step of the process, from writing a script based on your requirements and preferences, to recording and delivering the final audio file.

The cost for this service depends on a number of factors, and is set by the ad creation specialist. Generally, you may expect to pay between $100 and $1000 to create an ad for this test.

Google promises it will be worth it, however:

You'll be able to target your customers by location, station type, day of the week, and time of day. After the radio ads are run, you will be able to view online reports that tell you exactly when your ad played.

ALSO: GOOGLE ON THE RADIO: FIRST LOOK and GOOGLE, $20 BILLION RADIO WINNER?