Google ads ‘target’ people on the move

Internet in remote areas?

SAN FRANCISCO, May 25, (Agencies): Google on Tuesday unveiled redesigned ad products aimed at catching eyes on mobile devices and enticing people with nearby offerings at just the right moments.

Changes set to take place later this year include expanding space for text ads and making headlines more prominent.

Early feedback indicates the larger ads draw more “clicks” from “on-the-go mobile consumers” by letting them know more about offerings before tapping into merchants’ websites.

Google also introduced local search ads at its free Google Maps service and at Google.com.

Tactics being tested included promoted “pins” appearing in maps to point out locations of coffee shops, gas stations, restaurants or other offerings people may want, Ads and Commerce senior vice president Sridhar Ramaswamy said in a blog post.

“We’re experimenting with a variety of ad formats on Maps that make it easier for users to find businesses as they navigate the world around them,” Ramaswamy said.

Google remains the moneymaking engine for parent company Alphabet, with the bulk of that revenue coming from online advertising.

The California-based Internet giant has been working to stay at the forefront of a trend of going online using smartphones or tablets, on which advertising is less lucrative than on desktop computers.

Google tactics have included weaving artificial intelligence into services to better anticipate and cater to people’s desires and understanding context of queries to catch people at ideal moments, such as when they are hungry and seeking a lunch spot.

“Every year, there are trillions of searches on Google and over half of those searches happen on mobile,” Ramaswamy said.

“To help marketers succeed in this mobile-first world, we have redesigned AdWords — from the ground-up.”

Meanwhile, tech industry titans Tim Cook and Eric Schmidt took their battle for corporate domination to the heart of Europe on Tuesday seeking to win over new startups and IT enthusiasts.

Seminar

In a rare move, Apple chief executive Cook and his bitter rival, Alphabet boss Schmidt appeared at the opening day of a seminar organised in Amsterdam for the week-long Startup Europe Fest — although they did not take the stage together.

And Schmidt, chief executive for Alphabet and former Google boss, triggered laughter when he revealed he had an iPhone — made by his rival — in his pocket as well as a Samsung.

When an audience show of hands revealed more people had an iPhone than an Android, Schmidt said ironically: “So much for the Android monopoly in Europe.”

“The Samsung is better, has a better battery. Are we clear?” he insisted. “And to those of you who are iPhone users, I’m right!”

At the top of the corporate world, Apple and Google are in a back-and-forth battle to be number one.

It’s not clear which of the two Silicon Valley giants will emerge on top in a contest which highlights the contrast of very different business models.

Provides

The two companies have a virtual duopoly on the smartphone market, but Apple makes its own hardware and software while Google provides only the free Android software for handsets, including many made by low-cost manufacturers.

“Part of our job is to seed the market with ideas,” Schmidt said, as the two men lobbed a series of jabs at each other’s companies in their separate appearances.

He also urged more European entrepreneurs to take a risk and get behind start-ups, saying Google was hiring thousands of Europeans every year because they had nowhere to go to on their home continent.

Apple was meanwhile on a mission “to bring the app economy to places where it’s missed, because ... we recognise it hasn’t gone everywhere yet and we want it to very much,” Cook told the Amsterdam forum.

Also: SAN FRANCISCO:

Microsoft has joined other tech giants working to deliver the Internet in remote parts of the world, although it’s taking a smaller-scale approach than some of its rivals.

Google and Facebook are pursuing expensive, ambitious efforts to extend Internet access through networks of satellites, drones and high-altitude balloons. Microsoft is making grants to small businesses that provide online access, software or related services in places like Africa, India and rural Maine.

Microsoft says its grants, averaging about $75,000 in cash and free software, will help local startups provide services tailored to specific communities or regions, in ways that have more immediate impact.

“Local entrepreneurs stand a better chance of understanding local needs, and have the expertise to create new technologies and business models to meet those needs, taking into account local market conditions,” said Paul Garnett, director of Microsoft’s Affordable Access Initiative, in a blog post Tuesday.

Microsoft announced 12 grants to small firms around the world, including one that delivers Internet services over unused television channels in Maine. Other recipients distribute solar kiosks for charging mobile phones in Rwanda, provide Internet software for rural schools in India and operate Wi-Fi hotspots in the Philippines. One company, based in Argentina, makes mobile apps that use artificial intelligence to help farmers manage their livestock.

Garnett said Microsoft has set a goal of supporting “at least 20 projects in at least 15 countries by 2017.” The company is also pursuing other partnerships to promote education and technology in Africa, along with the use of TV “white space,” or unused broadcast channels, for Internet access.

Tech companies say extending Internet access can improve life in rural or impoverished areas, though it may also be good for