Google Shutting Down Print Ads

Internet giant Google has announced it will shut down its Print Ads operation, which let online advertisers buy newspaper ads just like Web advertising.

Internet giant Google has announced it will be shutting down its Print Ads service, effective February 28, 2009. Advertisers that have already booked campaigns will still have their ads placed through March 31, 2009.

Launched in late 2006 and thrown wide open in mid-2007, Google Print Ads allowed advertisers participating in Google’s AdWords  service to book ads in more than 800 U.S. print newspapers—with the idea that those papers collectively reached a majority of the United States’ population. However, the venture has failed to generate significant revenue for the company, and Print Ads has no doubt been impacted by a general decline in newspaper advertising sales in the last few years.

"We hoped that Print Ads would create a new revenue stream for newspapers and produce more relevant advertising for consumers," wrote Print Ads director Spencer Spinnell in a Google company blog. "The product has not created the impact that we—or our partners—wanted."

Google says it remains "dedicated to working with publishers," and has teams working to find new ways of generating revenue from "engaging online content."