• by Shankar Gupta , August 15, 2006

In an effort to prove that online ads actually do lead to brick-and-mortar purchases, Google today will start allowing merchants to distribute printable coupons via its mapping service, Google Maps.

For the new service, merchants that wish to distribute coupons can arrange to have an icon placed next to their listings on the Maps page. Users can then click on the icon to load and print the coupons. Currently, Google displays listings of businesses--gleaned from directory services and merchant submissions--alongside its map of an address.

The initial stable of merchants for the coupon service came from a partnership with ValPack, a direct mail and coupon company.

In the coming months, Google will extend the service to allow any AdWords advertiser to participate, Gokul Rajaram, product management director at Google, said. He added that marketers won't need a Web site to participate, because Google will arrange for them to create a coupon page, which can be linked as a pay-per-click landing page. "We're going to be launching the ability for AdWords advertisers to easily create ads to drive traffic to the coupons page," he said. "At that point, the advertiser doesn't need a Web site."

Rajaram also said the initiative aimed to improve the user experience and increase traffic at the Maps site.