Google AdWords introduces new coupon template

Consumers aren't just clipping coupons, they're clicking them, too. Online retailers are finding online coupons effective promotional tools, in many cases with redemption rates far exceeding their print cousins.

According to coupon processor Inmar, 13% of online coupons were redeemed last year, compared with a redemption rate of just 1% for print. One of the Internet's leading coupon sites said the redemption rates for coupons remained at approximately 17%.

However, despite their obvious effectiveness, online coupons represented just 1% of the 2.6 billion coupons offered annually in the U.S.

Now Google AdWords is getting in on the coupon act by offering two new templates for display advertising. Accessed via "Display Ad Builder", advertisers can include prominently displayed money-off messages and even include coupon codes for better tracking.

"We see the display ad builder as a great creative sandbox, allowing us to us to quickly test and iterate with new ad formats and capabilities that simple text ads can't offer," commented Danny Huynh, Associate Search Director of top digital ad agency, Razorfish, on the AdWords blog.

"The coupon templates in particular are allowing us to bring the messages from our customers' offline circulars, to the online world, at scale with Google's content network. We're planning to test display ad builder templates on an ongoing basis."

Tags: AdWords, coupon code, coupon template, coupons, Google, online coupons, print coupons, Razorfish, tracking