• by Shankar Gupta , December 11, 2006

Google has started offering AdWords marketers free Web hosting for AdWords--a move that encourages small advertisers without a Web presence to start buying paid search ads.

The service is free, and allows business owners to create Web pages even without knowing HTML, according to a post on Google's blog. "You can use a hosted business page to tell people more about your business when they click on your ad," a Google employee wrote on the blog. "For example, if you own a restaurant, you might write about your award-winning cannoli; if you are a tailor, potential customers would be thrilled to read about your 48-hour turnaround on alterations."

Greg Sterling, principal for Sterling Marketing Intelligence, said that the service is needed, especially for local campaigns. "It was what was missing for AdWords," he said, adding that many small businesses don't buy search ads because they don't have a Web site to service as a landing page. "The click had to go somewhere, so finally Google is providing that Web presence," he said.

"It definitely makes the product more accessible to small businesses," he added. "They've made efforts to simplify it enormously, and this is a part of that."