Google +Post Ads Gain Polls & Related Posts, Still Aren’t Worth It

It’s been just over two years since Google released +Post Ads that tie brand content on Google+ into interactive ads. For just over two years, these ads have underwhelmed and under-performed. This week Google has added new features to the ad units, unfortunately this won’t helped the intrinsically flawed ad product.

If you aren’t familiar with the product, +Post Ads allow users to advertise their Google+ content within an interactive ad unit. These ads show up on third party sites across the web and drive engagement on a the brand’s Google+ pages and post. Most advertisers aren’t keen on paying Google to promote a Google product (especially one that is may be troubled) and wisely shy away from these ads. For those that still utilize this ad type — new features are coming.

+Post Ads will now be given the power to display a brands Google+ poll and the ad units will also be able to display related posts for further engagement. Again, these ads are for external, third party  placement and advertisers are paying for these Google+ interactions. The un-inventive polls feature was launched in October and will now be baked directly into the interactive ad unit. The cost-per-engagement will work the same as before — advertisers will pay when the lightbox is opened, not when a poll is filled out or  a related post is shown.

+Post ads (or any ads) are still not available to drive traffic off of Google+, these Google ad units are still all made for advertisers to pay to promote Google+ content. For more information, see the official post on Google+.