Google is expanding its US newspaper print ad sales experiment to involve 225 newspapers and giving all its advertisers the opportunity to place ads in papers covering the major metropolitan areas of the United States.
The search giant started the test programme in November by allowing a limited number of advertisers to bid in online auctions for ads in the print edition of 50 US newspapers - including the New York Times and the Washington Post.
The test phase is now expanding to allow Google AdWords customers to bid for ads in titles which now also include papers run by: Scripps, Freedom Communications, Hearst Newspapers, GateHouse Media, Gannett, MediaNews Group, the New York Times newspapers, the Seattle Times Company and Tribune Publishing.
A spokesperson for Google in the UK refused to comment on any possible development of the scheme to a European or UK version.
The US scheme now claims to cover 33 of the 35 most heavily populated newspaper markets in the US - with a combined circulation of almost 30 million.
Advertisers can specify where they want ads placed according to circulation and location of newspaper. They can then table a bid for ads of certain sizes. Payments are made through AdWords after a PDF version of the advert is uploaded.
Google, which didn't claim a commission during the test phase, will now take a cut of the transaction - however, it refused to comment on reports that the figure could be as large as 20 per cent of the total cost.
"Over the past months, we have worked closely with our newspaper partners to design our Print Ads program to meet their needs and the needs of marketers," said Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive officer, in a statement.
"Newspapers are an important source of information and a powerful communication tool. With Google Print Ads we will bring more advertisers to newspapers which will ultimately benefit readers, publishers and advertisers."
