Expanding a test of its print advertising program, Google is now allowing advertisers to bid for space in 28 magazines, including high-profile publications such as Martha Stewart Living and Motor Trend.
The move is part of a continuing effort to diversify its advertising business beyond the Internet, which now produces the bulk of its revenue. The company also recently required a company that will allow it to enter radio advertising.
Advertisers in its popular online ad network -- known as AdWords -- can now bid for full-page, half-page or quarter-page ad placements in the publications. Bidding ends Feb. 20. The auction process mimics the way Google sells advertising on its own Web sites and those of partners.
The new program, which began Wednesday, is an expansion of a test begun last fall that allowed advertisers to buy space in PC Magazine and Maximum PC.
``We had favorable response to that, but the feedback we got was that advertisers wanted increased diversity in the publications they could choose from,'' said Gokul Rajaram, a director of product management at Google.
Google is effectively acting as a space broker, buying up blocks of ad space from the publications and selling off pieces to the highest bidders. The process is considerably different from the current print ad model, in which publications try to sell their space based on set advertising rates.
Google says its model gives publishers access to a far broader pool of advertisers. It also allows publications to spend more time nurturing relationships with larger ``bread and butter'' advertisers, Rajaram said, while Google works with smaller advertisers.
Google will notify the winning bidders by March 3. Advertisers will submit their final ads to Google, which will deliver them to the publishers.
The program may be appealing to some smaller advertisers, said marketing Professor George Belch. But he questioned whether Google will be able to reshape the print ad world, as it did with online advertising.
Advertisers often rely on media companies to develop sophisticated media buying plans, negotiate deals and buy up the appropriate ad space. Getting advertisers to move away from that process will be hard, he said.
``I guess I'm perplexed with Google's sense of advantage,'' said Belch, of San Diego State University. ``I guess they are acting as a space broker. But what I'm looking for from a media company is strategic thinking. Where can I get the most bang for my buck. . . . I have to question the growth potential of this.''
Contact Michael Bazeley at mbazeley@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5642, and read his blog at www.siliconbeat.com.
