DISQUS

Richard Ball · 3 years ago

You mention creating "ad campaigns by using Google's AdWords software from within Quickbooks." That's the key to this deal. Google needs to execute this very well. If there's simply a link from Quickbooks to AdWords with a $50 credit, this deal is worthless. Why? The AdWords platform is very complicated. It's not like creating a company description and picking some categories for a YP listing. The AdWords system is dynamic, where ads are ranked based on bids, historical performance, quality of landing page, geographic settings, etc. This is not a "set and forget" proposition.

Google recognizes this and developed a simpler version called Starter Edition. This is a complete failure for many reasons. For instance, it opts the advertiser into the content network. That means the advertiser is buying contextual advertising which is nothing like search engine advertising. It also only allows for the creation of a single ad. Most small businesses will have multiple products/services to advertise and will need different ad text and keywords for AdWords. Google needs to find a compromise between Starter Edition and Standard Edition. This "Quickbooks Edition" must be for search engine ads only, allow the creation of multiple ads, and provide for simple management and reporting. If Google doesn't create a customized version of AdWords for Quickbooks users, this deal will not be impressive.

Matt Marshall · 3 years ago

Richard, thanks for the perspective. So far, Google's had an easy time, gobbling up the low hanging fruit -- i.e., customers like you and me. But now its trying to get to the higher reaches, and you're probably right -- it may not come easily. Schmidt was talking about this two years ago, so its not like they're burning down the barn on this front...