AccuraCast reports on the Search Engine Watch Forums that Google is testing a new ad format that has expandable local results.
Here's an example of what AccuraCast has found with additional screenshots posted on Search Daily News:
When you click on the Map, it expands to show an address.
I tried to reproduce this but was unable to do so, so they must be rolling it out to a select set of individuals.
People are wondering and hoping there's an opt-out feature -- additional map links could draw attention to the ad and cause clicks that don't convert. I hear that.
Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.
Postscript: Statement from Google:
We did want to clarify that this Google Maps plusbox experiment is not a closed beta. It's actually shown for all advertisers that provide a local address to Google. However, since this feature is an experiment, we are only showing this plusbox to a small fraction of our users. Also, advertisers are not charged for any clicks inside the plus box. We consider this experiment to be another example of how we are constantly looking for ways to improve our advertising offerings and provide additional benefit to both our users and advertisers.
