Google To Tell Advertisers How Often Their YouTube Spots Lead To Store Visits

Thanks to a new update, Google will give its brand and agency partners more information regarding the effect their ads have. The tech giant has announced an expansion to its “store visits” service that will track how often a YouTube ad impression leads to a trip to the store.

The store visits tracker, which Google launched back in 2014, was initially limited to the company’s search ads. Since then, Google says, it has logged more than five billion store visits and has concluded that consumers who click on search ads are 25% more likely to head to a brick-and-mortar retail location.

That information is obviously valuable for brands and agencies, and by tracking store visit conversions on YouTube as well, Google’s partners will be able to learn how often their videos drive action in the real world.

“Most people don’t just click on an ad and buy a product,” said Google SVP for ads Sridhar Ramaswamy during a marketing event in San Francisco

. “We’re able to create products that take advantage of the overall Google experience.”

Ramaswamy’s mention of the “overall Google experience” speaks to the increasing degree to which the tech giant has brought together its chief properties in recent years. The most clear way this unity can be seen is in terms of layout. Google-owned platforms like Hangouts and YouTube have increasingly adopted the company’s “Material Design” philosophy, leading to a suite of Google products that look similar as they continue to work closely together.

With the store visits update, Google is showing that its internal unity can be used to shape products that assist ad partners. More information about how it tracks store visits can be found here.